4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
293 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
297 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
298 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
299 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
300 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
301 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
302 License'' in the Emacs manual.
304 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
305 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
306 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
308 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
309 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
310 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
311 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
319 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
321 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
322 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
325 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
326 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
327 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
328 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
329 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
330 License'' in the Emacs manual.
332 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
333 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
334 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
336 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
337 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
338 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
339 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
345 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
350 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
353 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
355 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
356 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
357 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
358 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
359 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
360 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
361 License'' in the Emacs manual.
363 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
364 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
365 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
367 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
368 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
369 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
370 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
379 @top The gnus Newsreader
383 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
384 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
385 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
388 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
389 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
390 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
391 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
392 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
393 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
395 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
406 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
407 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
409 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
410 being accused of plagiarism:
412 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
413 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
414 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
415 can even read news with it!
417 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
418 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
419 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
420 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
421 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
427 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
428 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
429 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
430 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
431 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
432 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
433 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
434 * Various:: General purpose settings.
435 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
436 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
437 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
438 * Key Index:: Key Index.
440 Other related manuals
442 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
443 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
444 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
445 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
448 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
452 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
453 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
454 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
455 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
456 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
457 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
458 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
459 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
460 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
461 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
462 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
466 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
467 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
468 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
472 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
473 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
474 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
475 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
476 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
477 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
478 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
479 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
480 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
481 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
482 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
483 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
484 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
485 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
486 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
487 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
488 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
492 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
493 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
494 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
498 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
499 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
500 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
501 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
502 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
506 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
507 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
508 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
509 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
510 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
514 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
515 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
516 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
517 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
518 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
519 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
520 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
521 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
522 * Threading:: How threads are made.
523 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
524 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
525 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
526 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
527 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
528 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
529 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
530 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
531 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
532 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
533 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
534 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
535 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
536 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
537 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
538 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
539 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
540 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
541 or reselecting the current group.
542 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
543 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
544 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
545 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
547 Summary Buffer Format
549 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
550 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
551 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
552 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
556 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
557 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
559 Reply, Followup and Post
561 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
562 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
563 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
564 * Canceling and Superseding::
568 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
569 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
570 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
572 * Generic Marking Commands::
573 * Setting Process Marks::
577 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
578 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
579 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
583 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
584 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
586 Customizing Threading
588 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
589 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
590 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
591 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
595 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
596 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
597 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
598 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
599 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
600 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
604 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
605 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
606 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
610 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
611 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
612 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
613 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
614 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
615 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
616 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
617 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
618 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
619 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
621 Alternative Approaches
623 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
624 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
626 Various Summary Stuff
628 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
629 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
630 * Summary Generation Commands::
631 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
635 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
636 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
637 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
638 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
639 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
643 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
644 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
645 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
646 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
647 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
648 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
649 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
650 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
654 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
655 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
656 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
657 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
658 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
659 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
660 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
661 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
665 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
666 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
667 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
668 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
669 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
670 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
671 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
675 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
676 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
680 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
681 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
682 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
686 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
687 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
688 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
689 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
690 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
691 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
692 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
693 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
694 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
695 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
696 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
697 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
698 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
702 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
703 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
704 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
706 Choosing a Mail Back End
708 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
709 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
710 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
711 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
712 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
713 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
718 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
719 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
720 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
721 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
722 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
723 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
727 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
728 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
729 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
730 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
731 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
735 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
736 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
737 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
738 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
739 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
743 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
747 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
748 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
749 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
753 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
754 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
758 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
759 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
760 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
761 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
762 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
763 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
764 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
765 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
766 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
767 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
768 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
772 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
773 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
774 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
778 * Group Agent Commands::
779 * Summary Agent Commands::
780 * Server Agent Commands::
784 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
785 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
786 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
787 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
788 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
789 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
790 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
791 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
792 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
793 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
794 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
795 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
796 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
797 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
798 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
799 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
800 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
804 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
805 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
806 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
807 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
811 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
812 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
813 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
817 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
818 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
819 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
820 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
821 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
822 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
823 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
824 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
825 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
826 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
827 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
828 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
829 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
830 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
831 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
832 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
833 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
834 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
835 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
839 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
840 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
841 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
842 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
843 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
844 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
845 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
846 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
850 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
851 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
852 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
853 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
854 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
858 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
859 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
860 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
861 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
862 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
866 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
867 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
868 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
869 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
870 * Filtering Spam Using spam.el::
871 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)::
875 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
876 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
877 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
878 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
879 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
880 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
881 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
882 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
883 * Frequently Asked Questions::
887 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
888 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
889 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
890 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
891 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
892 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
893 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
894 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
895 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
899 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
900 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
901 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
902 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
903 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
907 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
908 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
909 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
910 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
914 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
915 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
916 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
917 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
918 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
919 * Group Info:: The group info format.
920 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
921 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
922 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
926 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
927 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
928 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
929 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
930 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
931 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
935 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
936 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
940 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
941 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
947 @chapter Starting gnus
952 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
953 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
956 @findex gnus-other-frame
957 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
958 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
959 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
961 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
962 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
963 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
965 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
966 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
969 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
970 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
971 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
972 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
973 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
974 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
975 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
976 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
977 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
978 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
979 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
983 @node Finding the News
984 @section Finding the News
987 @vindex gnus-select-method
989 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
990 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
991 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
992 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
995 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
996 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
999 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1002 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1005 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1008 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1009 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1010 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1012 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1014 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1015 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1016 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1017 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1018 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1019 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1021 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1022 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1023 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1024 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1026 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1027 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1028 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1029 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1030 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1031 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1032 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1033 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1034 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1037 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1039 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1040 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1041 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1042 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1043 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1044 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1046 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1048 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1049 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1050 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1051 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1052 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1053 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1056 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1057 you would typically set this variable to
1060 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1064 @node The First Time
1065 @section The First Time
1066 @cindex first time usage
1068 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1069 be subscribed by default.
1071 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1072 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1073 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1074 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1077 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1078 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1079 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1081 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1082 help you with most common problems.
1084 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1085 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1089 @node The Server is Down
1090 @section The Server is Down
1091 @cindex server errors
1093 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1094 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1095 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1097 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1098 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1099 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1100 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1101 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1102 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1103 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1105 @findex gnus-no-server
1106 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1108 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1109 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1110 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1111 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1112 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1113 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1114 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1118 @section Slave Gnusae
1121 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1122 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1123 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1124 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1126 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1127 @code{.newsrc} file.
1129 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1130 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1131 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1132 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1133 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1134 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1135 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1137 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1138 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1139 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1140 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1141 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1142 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1143 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1144 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1146 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1147 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1149 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1150 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1151 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1152 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1153 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1155 @node Fetching a Group
1156 @section Fetching a Group
1157 @cindex fetching a group
1159 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1160 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1161 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1162 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1163 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1164 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1170 @cindex subscription
1172 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1173 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1174 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1175 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1176 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1177 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1178 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1179 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1180 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1183 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1184 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1185 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1189 @node Checking New Groups
1190 @subsection Checking New Groups
1192 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1193 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1194 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1195 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1196 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1197 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1198 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1199 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1200 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1201 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1203 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1204 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1205 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1206 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1207 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1208 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1209 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1210 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1211 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1212 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1213 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1215 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1216 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1217 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1218 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1219 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1220 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1223 @node Subscription Methods
1224 @subsection Subscription Methods
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1227 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1228 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1230 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1231 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1233 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1239 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1240 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1241 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1245 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1246 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1250 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1254 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1255 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1256 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1257 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1258 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1259 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1260 up. Or something like that.
1262 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1263 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1264 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1265 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1266 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1268 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1270 Kill all new groups.
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1274 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1275 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1276 topic parameter that looks like
1282 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1285 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1290 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1291 A closely related variable is
1292 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1293 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1294 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1295 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1298 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1299 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1300 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1301 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1304 @node Filtering New Groups
1305 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1307 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1308 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1309 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1312 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1315 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1316 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1317 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1318 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1319 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1320 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1321 subscribing these groups.
1322 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1323 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1325 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1326 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1327 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1328 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1329 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1330 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1331 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1332 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1334 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1335 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1336 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1337 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1338 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1339 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1340 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1341 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1342 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1343 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1346 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1347 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1350 @node Changing Servers
1351 @section Changing Servers
1352 @cindex changing servers
1354 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1355 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1356 very flaky and you want to use another.
1358 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1359 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1363 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1364 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1365 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1366 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1369 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1370 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1371 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1372 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1374 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1375 @findex gnus-change-server
1376 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1377 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1378 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1379 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1380 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1382 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1383 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1384 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1385 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1386 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1388 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1389 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1390 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1391 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1392 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1393 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1395 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1396 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1397 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1398 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1400 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1401 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1402 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1403 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1404 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1405 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1406 cache for all groups).
1410 @section Startup Files
1411 @cindex startup files
1416 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1417 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1419 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1420 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1421 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1422 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1423 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1424 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1425 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1427 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1428 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1429 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1430 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1431 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1432 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1434 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1435 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1436 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1437 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1438 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1439 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1440 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1441 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1442 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1443 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1445 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1446 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1447 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1448 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1449 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1450 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1451 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1452 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1453 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1454 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1455 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1456 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1458 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1459 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1460 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1461 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1463 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1464 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1465 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1466 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1467 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1468 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1469 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1470 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1471 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1472 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1475 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1476 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1478 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1479 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1482 @vindex gnus-init-file
1483 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1484 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1485 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1486 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1487 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1488 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1489 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1490 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1491 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1497 @cindex dribble file
1500 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1501 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1502 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1503 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1504 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1507 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1508 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1511 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1512 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1513 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1515 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1516 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1517 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1518 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1519 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1520 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1522 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1523 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1524 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1527 @node The Active File
1528 @section The Active File
1530 @cindex ignored groups
1532 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1533 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1534 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1536 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1537 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1538 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1539 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1540 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1541 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1542 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1545 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1546 @c if you set it to anything else.
1548 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1550 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1551 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1552 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1554 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1555 you actually subscribe to.
1557 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1558 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1559 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1560 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1562 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1563 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1564 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1565 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1566 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1567 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1569 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1570 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1571 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1574 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1575 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1576 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1577 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1578 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1579 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1581 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1582 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1584 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1585 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1587 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1588 secondary select methods.
1591 @node Startup Variables
1592 @section Startup Variables
1596 @item gnus-load-hook
1597 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1598 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1599 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1600 times you start gnus.
1602 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1603 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1604 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1606 @item gnus-startup-hook
1607 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1608 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1610 @item gnus-started-hook
1611 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1612 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1615 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1616 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1617 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1618 generating the group buffer.
1620 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1621 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1622 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1623 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1624 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1625 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1626 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1627 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1629 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1630 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1631 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1632 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1633 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1634 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1636 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1637 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1638 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1640 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1641 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1642 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1644 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1645 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1646 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1647 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1653 @chapter Group Buffer
1654 @cindex group buffer
1656 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1658 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1659 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1660 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1661 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1662 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1663 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1664 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1665 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1666 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1667 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1668 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1669 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1670 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1671 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1672 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1673 @c human rights at 9...
1676 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1677 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1678 long as gnus is active.
1682 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1683 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1684 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1685 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1686 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1687 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1688 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1689 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1695 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1696 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1697 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1698 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1699 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1700 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1701 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1702 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1703 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1704 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1705 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1706 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1707 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1708 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1709 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1710 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1711 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1715 @node Group Buffer Format
1716 @section Group Buffer Format
1719 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1720 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1721 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1725 @node Group Line Specification
1726 @subsection Group Line Specification
1727 @cindex group buffer format
1729 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1730 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1732 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1735 25: news.announce.newusers
1736 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1741 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1742 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1743 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1744 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1746 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1747 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1748 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1749 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1750 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1751 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1753 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1755 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1756 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1757 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1758 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1759 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1761 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1762 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1763 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1765 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1770 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1773 Whether the group is subscribed.
1776 Level of subscribedness.
1779 Number of unread articles.
1782 Number of dormant articles.
1785 Number of ticked articles.
1788 Number of read articles.
1791 Number of unseen articles.
1794 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1795 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1797 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1798 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1799 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1800 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1801 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1802 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1803 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1804 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1807 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1810 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1819 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1820 comment element in the group parameters.
1823 Newsgroup description.
1826 @samp{m} if moderated.
1829 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1835 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1841 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1845 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1848 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1849 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1850 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1851 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1852 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1855 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1857 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1861 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1864 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1868 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1869 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1870 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1871 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1872 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1873 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1878 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1879 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1880 group, or a bogus native group.
1883 @node Group Modeline Specification
1884 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1885 @cindex group modeline
1887 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1888 The mode line can be changed by setting
1889 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1890 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1894 The native news server.
1896 The native select method.
1900 @node Group Highlighting
1901 @subsection Group Highlighting
1902 @cindex highlighting
1903 @cindex group highlighting
1905 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1906 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1907 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1908 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1909 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1911 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1915 (cond (window-system
1916 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1917 (defface my-group-face-1
1918 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1919 (defface my-group-face-2
1920 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1921 (defface my-group-face-3
1922 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1923 (defface my-group-face-4
1924 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1925 (defface my-group-face-5
1926 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1928 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1929 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1930 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1931 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1932 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1933 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1936 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1938 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1945 The number of unread articles in the group.
1949 Whether the group is a mail group.
1951 The level of the group.
1953 The score of the group.
1955 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1957 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1958 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1960 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1961 topic being inserted.
1964 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1965 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1966 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1968 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1969 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1970 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1971 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1972 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1975 @node Group Maneuvering
1976 @section Group Maneuvering
1977 @cindex group movement
1979 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1980 expected, hopefully.
1986 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1987 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1988 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1994 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1995 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1996 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2000 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2001 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2005 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2006 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2010 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2011 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2012 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2016 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2017 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2018 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2021 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2027 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2028 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2029 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2034 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2035 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2036 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2040 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2041 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2042 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2045 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2046 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2047 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2048 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2052 @node Selecting a Group
2053 @section Selecting a Group
2054 @cindex group selection
2059 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2060 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2061 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2062 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2063 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2064 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2065 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2066 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2067 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2068 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2070 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2071 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2072 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2074 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2075 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2080 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2081 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2082 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2083 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2084 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2088 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2089 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2090 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2091 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2092 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2093 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2094 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2095 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2096 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2097 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2100 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2101 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2102 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2103 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2104 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2107 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2108 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2109 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2110 doing any processing of its contents
2111 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2112 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2113 manner will have no permanent effects.
2117 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2118 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2119 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2120 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2121 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2122 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2123 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2124 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2127 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2128 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2129 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2130 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2131 Which article this is is controlled by the
2132 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2138 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2141 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2144 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2146 @item unseen-or-unread
2147 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2148 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2152 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2156 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2157 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2159 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2160 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2161 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2162 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2166 @node Subscription Commands
2167 @section Subscription Commands
2168 @cindex subscription
2176 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2177 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2178 Toggle subscription to the current group
2179 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2185 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2186 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2187 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2188 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2194 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2195 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2196 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2202 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2203 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2206 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2207 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2208 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2209 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2210 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2216 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2217 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2221 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2222 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2225 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2226 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2227 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2228 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2229 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2230 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2231 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2232 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2233 @file{.newsrc} file.
2237 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2247 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2248 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2249 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2250 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2251 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2252 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2257 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2258 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2259 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2263 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2264 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2265 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2267 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2268 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2269 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2270 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2271 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2272 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2279 @section Group Levels
2283 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2284 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2285 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2286 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2287 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2289 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2295 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2296 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2297 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2298 prompted for a level.
2301 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2302 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2303 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2304 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2305 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2306 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2307 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2308 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2309 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2310 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2311 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2312 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2313 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2314 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2315 reasons of efficiency.
2317 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2318 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2320 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2321 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2322 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2323 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2324 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2325 groups are hidden, in a way.
2327 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2328 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2329 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2330 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2331 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2332 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2334 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2335 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2336 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2337 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2338 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2339 list of killed groups.)
2341 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2342 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2343 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2345 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2346 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2347 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2348 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2349 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2350 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2351 relevant valid ranges.
2353 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2354 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2355 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2356 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2357 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2358 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2361 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2362 one with the best level.
2364 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2365 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2366 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2369 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2370 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2371 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2372 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2375 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2376 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2377 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2378 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2380 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2381 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2382 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2383 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2384 to 5. The default is 6.
2388 @section Group Score
2393 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2394 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2395 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2398 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2399 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2400 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2401 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2402 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2403 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2404 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2405 least significant part.))
2407 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2408 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2409 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2410 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2411 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2412 action after each summary exit, you can add
2413 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2414 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2415 slow things down somewhat.
2418 @node Marking Groups
2419 @section Marking Groups
2420 @cindex marking groups
2422 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2423 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2424 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2425 bidding on those groups.
2427 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2428 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2429 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2437 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2438 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2444 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2445 Remove the mark from the current group
2446 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2450 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2451 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2455 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2456 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2460 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2461 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2465 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2466 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2467 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2470 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2472 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2473 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2474 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2475 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2476 the command to be executed.
2479 @node Foreign Groups
2480 @section Foreign Groups
2481 @cindex foreign groups
2483 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2484 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2485 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2486 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2493 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2494 @cindex making groups
2495 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2496 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2497 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2501 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2502 @cindex renaming groups
2503 Rename the current group to something else
2504 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2505 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2511 @findex gnus-group-customize
2512 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2516 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2517 @cindex renaming groups
2518 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2519 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2523 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2524 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2525 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2529 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2530 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2531 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2535 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2537 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2538 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2543 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2544 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2548 @cindex (ding) archive
2549 @cindex archive group
2550 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2551 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2552 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2553 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2554 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2555 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2556 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2560 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2562 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2563 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2564 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2565 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2569 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2571 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2572 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2573 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2577 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2578 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2580 Make a group based on some file or other
2581 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2582 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2583 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2584 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2585 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2586 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2587 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2588 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2589 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2593 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2594 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2595 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2596 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2600 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2604 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2605 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2606 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2607 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2608 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2609 @xref{Web Searches}.
2611 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2612 to a particular group by using a match string like
2613 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2616 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2617 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2618 This function will delete the current group
2619 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2620 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2621 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2622 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2623 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2627 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2628 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2629 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2633 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2634 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2635 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2638 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2641 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2642 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2643 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2644 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2645 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2646 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2650 @node Group Parameters
2651 @section Group Parameters
2652 @cindex group parameters
2654 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2655 Here's an example group parameter list:
2658 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2662 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2663 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2664 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2665 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2667 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2668 is an alist of regexps and values.
2670 The following group parameters can be used:
2675 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2678 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2681 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2682 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2683 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2684 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2685 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2687 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2688 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2689 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2690 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2691 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2692 list address instead.
2694 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2698 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2701 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2704 It is totally ignored
2705 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2706 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2708 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2709 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2710 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2711 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2712 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2714 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2715 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2716 sending the message.
2718 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2719 @cindex Mail List Groups
2720 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2721 entering summary buffer.
2723 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2728 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2729 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2730 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2731 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2732 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2733 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2735 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2736 directly uses this group parameter.
2740 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2741 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2742 of whether it has any unread articles.
2744 @item broken-reply-to
2745 @cindex broken-reply-to
2746 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2747 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2748 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2749 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2750 broken behavior. So there!
2754 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2755 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2759 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2760 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2761 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2766 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2767 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2768 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2769 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2770 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2771 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2772 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2773 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2774 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2778 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2779 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2780 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2782 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2785 @cindex total-expire
2786 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2787 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2788 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2789 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2792 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2796 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2797 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2798 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2799 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2800 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2801 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2802 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2805 @cindex score file group parameter
2806 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2807 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2808 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2811 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2812 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2813 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2814 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2817 @cindex admin-address
2818 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2819 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2820 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2821 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2825 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2826 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2830 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2833 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2834 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2837 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2841 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2843 Here are some examples:
2847 Display only unread articles.
2850 Display everything except expirable articles.
2852 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2853 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2857 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2858 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2859 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2860 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2861 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2865 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2866 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2867 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2871 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2872 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2873 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2877 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2878 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2879 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2881 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2883 @item ignored-charsets
2884 @cindex ignored-charset
2885 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2886 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2887 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2889 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2892 @cindex posting-style
2893 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2894 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2895 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2896 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2897 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2899 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2900 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2901 like this in the group parameters:
2906 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2911 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2912 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2916 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2917 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2918 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2919 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2920 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2924 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2925 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2926 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2927 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2929 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2930 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2931 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2932 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2935 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2936 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2940 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2943 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2944 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2945 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2946 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2947 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2948 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2949 @code{eval}ed there.
2951 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2952 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2953 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2954 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2955 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2956 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2957 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2958 parameters for the group.
2961 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2962 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2963 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2964 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2965 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2969 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2970 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2971 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2972 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2973 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2975 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2976 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2980 (setq gnus-parameters
2982 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2983 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2984 (gnus-summary-line-format
2985 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2989 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2993 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2997 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3000 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3001 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3004 @node Listing Groups
3005 @section Listing Groups
3006 @cindex group listing
3008 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3016 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3017 List all groups that have unread articles
3018 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3019 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3020 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3021 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3028 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3029 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3030 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3031 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3032 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3033 unsubscribed groups).
3037 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3038 List all unread groups on a specific level
3039 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3040 with no unread articles.
3044 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3045 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3046 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3047 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3052 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3053 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3057 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3058 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3059 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3063 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3064 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3068 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3069 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3070 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3071 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3072 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3073 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3074 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3075 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3079 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3080 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3081 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3086 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3087 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3091 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3092 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3096 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3097 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3101 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3102 List groups limited within the current selection
3103 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3107 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3108 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3112 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3113 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3117 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3118 @cindex visible group parameter
3119 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3120 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3121 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3122 get the same effect.
3124 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3125 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3126 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3127 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3128 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3131 @node Sorting Groups
3132 @section Sorting Groups
3133 @cindex sorting groups
3135 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3136 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3137 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3138 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3139 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3140 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3145 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3147 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3149 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3150 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3151 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3153 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3154 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3155 Sort by group level.
3157 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3159 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3161 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3162 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3163 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3164 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3166 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3167 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3168 Sort by number of unread articles.
3170 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3172 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3174 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3175 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3176 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3181 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3182 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3186 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3187 some sorting criteria:
3191 @kindex G S a (Group)
3192 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3193 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3194 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3197 @kindex G S u (Group)
3198 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3199 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3200 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3203 @kindex G S l (Group)
3204 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3205 Sort the group buffer by group level
3206 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3209 @kindex G S v (Group)
3210 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3211 Sort the group buffer by group score
3212 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3215 @kindex G S r (Group)
3216 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3217 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3218 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3221 @kindex G S m (Group)
3222 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3223 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3224 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3227 @kindex G S n (Group)
3228 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3229 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3230 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3234 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3235 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3237 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3238 commands will sort in reverse order.
3240 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3244 @kindex G P a (Group)
3245 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3246 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3247 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3250 @kindex G P u (Group)
3251 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3252 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3253 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3256 @kindex G P l (Group)
3257 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3258 Sort the groups by group level
3259 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3262 @kindex G P v (Group)
3263 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3264 Sort the groups by group score
3265 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3268 @kindex G P r (Group)
3269 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3270 Sort the groups by group rank
3271 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3274 @kindex G P m (Group)
3275 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3276 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3277 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3280 @kindex G P n (Group)
3281 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3282 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3283 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3286 @kindex G P s (Group)
3287 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3288 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3292 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3296 @node Group Maintenance
3297 @section Group Maintenance
3298 @cindex bogus groups
3303 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3304 Find bogus groups and delete them
3305 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3309 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3310 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3311 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3312 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3313 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3317 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3318 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3319 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3320 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3321 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3322 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3325 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3326 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3327 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3328 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3333 @node Browse Foreign Server
3334 @section Browse Foreign Server
3335 @cindex foreign servers
3336 @cindex browsing servers
3341 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3342 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3343 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3344 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3347 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3348 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3349 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3350 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3352 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3357 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3358 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3362 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3363 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3366 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3367 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3368 Enter the current group and display the first article
3369 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3372 @kindex RET (Browse)
3373 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3374 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3378 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3379 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3380 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3386 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3387 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3391 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3392 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3396 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3397 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3398 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3403 @section Exiting gnus
3404 @cindex exiting gnus
3406 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3411 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3412 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3413 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3414 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3418 @findex gnus-group-exit
3419 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3420 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3424 @findex gnus-group-quit
3425 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3426 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3429 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3430 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3431 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3432 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3433 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3438 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3439 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3440 trying to customize meta-variables.
3445 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3446 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3447 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3453 @section Group Topics
3456 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3457 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3458 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3459 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3460 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3461 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3465 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3466 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3477 2: alt.religion.emacs
3480 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3482 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3483 13: comp.sources.unix
3486 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3488 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3489 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3490 is a toggling command.)
3492 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3493 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3494 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3495 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3498 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3499 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3500 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3503 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3507 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3508 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3509 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3510 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3511 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3515 @node Topic Commands
3516 @subsection Topic Commands
3517 @cindex topic commands
3519 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3520 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3521 definitions slightly.
3523 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3524 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3525 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3526 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3527 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3528 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3530 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3537 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3538 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3539 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3543 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3545 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3546 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3547 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3548 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3551 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3552 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3553 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3554 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3558 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3559 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3560 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3561 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3567 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3568 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3569 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3573 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3574 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3575 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3578 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3579 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3580 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3581 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3582 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3584 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3585 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3589 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3590 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3597 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3599 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3600 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3601 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3602 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3603 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3604 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3608 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3614 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3615 Move the current group to some other topic
3616 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3617 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3621 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3622 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3626 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3627 Copy the current group to some other topic
3628 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3629 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3633 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3634 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3635 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3639 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3640 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3641 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3645 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3646 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3647 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3648 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3649 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3650 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3651 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3654 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3655 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3659 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3660 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3661 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3665 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3666 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3667 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3671 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3672 Toggle hiding empty topics
3673 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3677 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3678 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3679 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3682 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3683 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3684 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3685 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3688 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3689 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3690 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3691 expiry process (if any)
3692 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3696 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3697 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3700 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3701 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3702 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3706 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3707 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3708 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3711 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3712 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3713 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3716 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3717 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3718 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3722 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3723 @cindex group parameters
3724 @cindex topic parameters
3726 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3727 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3732 @node Topic Variables
3733 @subsection Topic Variables
3734 @cindex topic variables
3736 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3737 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3739 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3740 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3741 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3754 Number of groups in the topic.
3756 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3758 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3761 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3762 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3763 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3766 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3767 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3769 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3770 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3771 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3775 @subsection Topic Sorting
3776 @cindex topic sorting
3778 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3784 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3785 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3786 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3787 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3790 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3791 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3792 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3793 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3796 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3797 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3798 Sort the current topic by group level
3799 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3802 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3803 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3804 Sort the current topic by group score
3805 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3808 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3809 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3810 Sort the current topic by group rank
3811 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3814 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3815 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3816 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3817 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3820 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3821 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3822 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3823 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3827 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3828 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3829 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3830 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3834 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3835 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3839 @node Topic Topology
3840 @subsection Topic Topology
3841 @cindex topic topology
3844 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3850 2: alt.religion.emacs
3853 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3855 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3856 13: comp.sources.unix
3859 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3860 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3861 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3866 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3867 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3871 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3872 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3873 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3874 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3875 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3876 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3878 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3879 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3880 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3883 @node Topic Parameters
3884 @subsection Topic Parameters
3885 @cindex topic parameters
3887 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3888 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3889 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3891 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3896 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3897 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3898 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3901 @item subscribe-level
3902 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3903 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3904 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3908 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3909 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3910 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3911 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3917 2: alt.religion.emacs
3921 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3923 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3924 13: comp.sources.unix
3928 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3929 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3930 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3931 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3932 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3933 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3935 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3936 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3937 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3938 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3939 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3941 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3942 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3943 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3944 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3945 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3946 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3947 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3948 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3951 @node Misc Group Stuff
3952 @section Misc Group Stuff
3955 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3956 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3957 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3958 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3959 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3966 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3967 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3968 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3972 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3973 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3974 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3975 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3976 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3977 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3978 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3982 @findex gnus-group-mail
3983 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3984 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3985 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3986 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3990 @findex gnus-group-news
3991 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3992 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3993 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3995 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3996 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3997 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3998 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3999 for this to work though.
4003 Variables for the group buffer:
4007 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4008 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4009 is called after the group buffer has been
4012 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4013 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4014 is called after the group buffer is
4015 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4018 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4019 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4020 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4021 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4023 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4024 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4025 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4026 whether they are empty or not.
4028 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4029 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4030 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4031 non-ASCII group names.
4035 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4036 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4039 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4040 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4041 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4042 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4043 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4044 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4048 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4049 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4054 @node Scanning New Messages
4055 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4056 @cindex new messages
4057 @cindex scanning new news
4063 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4064 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4065 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4066 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4067 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4068 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4073 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4074 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4075 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4076 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4077 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4078 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4079 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4081 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4082 @cindex activating groups
4084 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4085 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4090 @findex gnus-group-restart
4091 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4092 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4093 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4097 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4098 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4100 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4101 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4105 @node Group Information
4106 @subsection Group Information
4107 @cindex group information
4108 @cindex information on groups
4115 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4116 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4119 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4120 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4121 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4122 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4123 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4124 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4125 for fetching the file.
4127 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4128 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4132 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4133 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4135 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4136 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4139 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4140 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4141 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4145 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4146 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4147 @cindex control message
4148 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4149 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4150 group if given a prefix argument.
4152 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4153 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4154 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4157 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4158 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4159 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4163 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4165 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4166 @cindex describing groups
4167 @cindex group description
4168 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4169 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4170 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4174 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4175 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4176 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4183 @findex gnus-version
4184 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4188 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4189 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4192 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4195 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4196 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4200 @node Group Timestamp
4201 @subsection Group Timestamp
4203 @cindex group timestamps
4205 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4206 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4207 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4210 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4213 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4215 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4216 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4219 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4220 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4223 This will result in lines looking like:
4226 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4227 0: custom 19961002T012713
4230 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4231 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4235 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4236 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4239 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4240 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4244 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4245 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4246 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4247 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4249 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4255 @subsection File Commands
4256 @cindex file commands
4262 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4263 @vindex gnus-init-file
4264 @cindex reading init file
4265 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4266 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4270 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4271 @cindex saving .newsrc
4272 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4273 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4274 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4277 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4278 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4279 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4284 @node Sieve Commands
4285 @subsection Sieve Commands
4286 @cindex group sieve commands
4288 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4289 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4290 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4291 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4292 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4294 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4295 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4296 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4297 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4298 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4299 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4300 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4301 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4302 regenerate the Sieve script.
4304 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4305 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4306 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4307 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4308 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4309 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4310 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4311 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4312 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4313 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4316 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4317 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4322 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4328 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4329 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4330 @cindex generating sieve script
4331 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4332 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4336 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4337 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4338 @cindex updating sieve script
4339 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4340 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4341 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4346 @node Summary Buffer
4347 @chapter Summary Buffer
4348 @cindex summary buffer
4350 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4351 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4353 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4354 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4356 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4359 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4360 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4361 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4362 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4363 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4364 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4365 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4366 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4367 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4368 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4369 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4370 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4371 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4372 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4373 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4374 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4375 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4376 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4377 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4378 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4379 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4380 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4381 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4382 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4383 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4384 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4385 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4386 or reselecting the current group.
4387 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4388 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4389 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4390 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4394 @node Summary Buffer Format
4395 @section Summary Buffer Format
4396 @cindex summary buffer format
4400 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4401 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4402 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4408 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4409 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4410 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4411 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4414 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4415 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4416 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4417 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4418 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4419 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4420 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4421 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4422 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4423 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4424 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4425 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4426 other function instead:
4429 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4430 'mail-extract-address-components)
4433 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4434 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4435 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4436 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4439 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4440 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4442 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4443 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4444 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4445 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4446 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4448 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4449 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4450 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4451 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4452 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4453 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4455 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4457 The following format specification characters and extended format
4458 specification(s) are understood:
4464 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4465 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4467 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4468 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4469 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4471 Full @code{From} header.
4473 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4475 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4478 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4479 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4480 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4481 may be more thorough.
4483 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4486 Number of lines in the article.
4488 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4489 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4491 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4492 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4494 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4496 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4499 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4500 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4502 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4503 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4505 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4506 for adopted articles.
4508 One space for each thread level.
4510 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4512 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4515 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4516 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4517 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4520 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4522 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4523 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4524 default level. If the difference between
4525 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4526 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4534 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4536 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4542 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4543 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4545 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4546 article has any children.
4552 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4553 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4555 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4556 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4557 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4558 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4559 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4560 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4563 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4564 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4565 There can only be one such area.
4567 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4568 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4569 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4570 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4571 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4572 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4574 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4575 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4577 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4580 @node To From Newsgroups
4581 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4585 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4586 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4587 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4588 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4589 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4593 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4594 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4595 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4599 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4600 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4603 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4604 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4607 @findex gnus-extra-header
4608 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4609 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4610 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4613 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4617 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4618 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4619 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4620 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4621 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4622 headers are used instead.
4626 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4627 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4628 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4629 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4630 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4631 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4633 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4634 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4635 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4636 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4638 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4642 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4644 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4645 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4646 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4647 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4651 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4654 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4655 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4658 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4659 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4660 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4666 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4667 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4670 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4671 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4673 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4674 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4675 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4676 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4678 Here are the elements you can play with:
4684 Unprefixed group name.
4686 Current article number.
4688 Current article score.
4692 Number of unread articles in this group.
4694 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4697 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4698 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4699 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4700 and no unselected ones.
4702 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4703 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4705 Subject of the current article.
4707 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4709 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4711 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4713 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4715 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4717 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4721 @node Summary Highlighting
4722 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4726 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4727 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4728 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4729 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4730 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4732 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4733 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4734 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4735 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4737 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4738 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4739 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4740 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4742 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4743 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4744 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4745 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4746 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4747 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4750 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4751 ((> score default) . bold))
4753 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4754 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4758 @node Summary Maneuvering
4759 @section Summary Maneuvering
4760 @cindex summary movement
4762 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4763 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4765 None of these commands select articles.
4770 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4771 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4772 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4773 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4774 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4778 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4779 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4780 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4781 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4782 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4785 @kindex G g (Summary)
4786 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4787 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4788 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4791 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4792 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4793 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4794 to the group buffer.
4796 Variables related to summary movement:
4800 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4801 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4802 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4803 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4804 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4805 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4806 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4807 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4808 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4809 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4810 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4811 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4812 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4813 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4815 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4816 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4817 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4818 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4819 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4820 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4821 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4823 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4825 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4826 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4827 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4828 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4829 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4831 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4832 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4833 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4834 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4835 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4836 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4837 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4838 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4841 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4842 the given number of lines from the top.
4847 @node Choosing Articles
4848 @section Choosing Articles
4849 @cindex selecting articles
4852 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4853 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4857 @node Choosing Commands
4858 @subsection Choosing Commands
4860 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4861 and they all select and display an article.
4863 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4864 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4868 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4870 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4871 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4876 @kindex G n (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4878 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4879 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4884 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4885 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4886 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4891 @kindex G N (Summary)
4892 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4893 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4898 @kindex G P (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4900 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4903 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4904 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4905 Go to the next article with the same subject
4906 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4909 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4910 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4911 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4912 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4916 @kindex G f (Summary)
4918 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4919 Go to the first unread article
4920 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4924 @kindex G b (Summary)
4926 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4927 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4928 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4929 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4934 @kindex G l (Summary)
4935 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4936 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4939 @kindex G o (Summary)
4940 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4942 @cindex article history
4943 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4944 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4945 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4946 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4947 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4948 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4953 @kindex G j (Summary)
4954 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4955 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4956 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4961 @node Choosing Variables
4962 @subsection Choosing Variables
4964 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4967 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4968 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4969 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4970 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4971 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4972 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4974 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4975 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4976 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4977 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you wish
4978 that the Agent saves all articles you read, putting
4979 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook should do it.
4981 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4982 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4983 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4984 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4985 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4986 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4987 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4988 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4989 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4990 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4991 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4992 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4993 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4994 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4999 @node Paging the Article
5000 @section Scrolling the Article
5001 @cindex article scrolling
5006 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5007 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5008 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5009 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5010 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5013 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5014 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5015 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5018 @kindex RET (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5020 Scroll the current article one line forward
5021 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5024 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5026 Scroll the current article one line backward
5027 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5031 @kindex A g (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5034 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5035 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5036 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5037 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5038 the way it came from the server.
5040 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5041 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5042 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5045 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5050 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5055 @kindex A < (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5057 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5058 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5063 @kindex A > (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5065 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5069 @kindex A s (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5072 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5073 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5077 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5078 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5083 @node Reply Followup and Post
5084 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5087 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5088 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5089 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5090 * Canceling and Superseding::
5094 @node Summary Mail Commands
5095 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5097 @cindex composing mail
5099 Commands for composing a mail message:
5105 @kindex S r (Summary)
5107 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5108 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5109 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5110 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5111 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5116 @kindex S R (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5118 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5119 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5120 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5121 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5124 @kindex S w (Summary)
5125 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5126 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5127 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5128 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5129 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5132 @kindex S W (Summary)
5133 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5134 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5135 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5136 the process/prefix convention.
5139 @kindex S v (Summary)
5140 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5141 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5142 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5143 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5144 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5145 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5148 @kindex S V (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5150 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5151 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5152 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5155 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5157 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5158 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5161 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5162 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5163 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5164 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5165 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5169 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5170 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5171 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5172 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5173 Forward the current article to some other person
5174 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5175 headers of the forwarded article.
5180 @kindex S m (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5182 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5183 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5184 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5185 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5190 @kindex S i (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5192 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5193 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5194 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5196 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5197 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5198 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5199 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5200 for this to work though.
5203 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5205 @cindex bouncing mail
5206 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5207 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5208 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5209 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5210 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5211 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5212 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5213 very well fail, though.
5216 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5217 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5218 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5219 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5220 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5221 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5222 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5223 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5224 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5225 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5227 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5228 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5229 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5230 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5231 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5233 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5234 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5237 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5239 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5240 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5241 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5244 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5246 @cindex crossposting
5247 @cindex excessive crossposting
5248 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5249 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5251 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5252 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5253 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5254 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5255 command understands the process/prefix convention
5256 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5260 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5261 Manual}, for more information.
5264 @node Summary Post Commands
5265 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5267 @cindex composing news
5269 Commands for posting a news article:
5275 @kindex S p (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5277 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5278 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5279 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5280 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5285 @kindex S f (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5287 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5288 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5292 @kindex S F (Summary)
5294 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5295 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5296 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5297 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5298 process/prefix convention.
5301 @kindex S n (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5303 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5304 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5307 @kindex S N (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5309 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5310 message through mail and include the original message
5311 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5312 the process/prefix convention.
5315 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5317 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5318 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5319 headers of the forwarded article.
5322 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5323 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5325 @cindex making digests
5326 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5327 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5328 process/prefix convention.
5331 @kindex S u (Summary)
5332 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5333 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5334 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5335 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5338 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5339 Manual}, for more information.
5342 @node Summary Message Commands
5343 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5347 @kindex S y (Summary)
5348 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5349 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5350 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5351 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5352 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5357 @node Canceling and Superseding
5358 @subsection Canceling Articles
5359 @cindex canceling articles
5360 @cindex superseding articles
5362 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5363 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5365 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5367 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5369 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5370 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5371 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5372 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5373 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5374 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5376 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5377 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5380 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5381 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5382 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5384 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5385 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5386 your original article.
5388 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5390 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5391 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5392 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5395 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5396 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5397 have posted almost the same article twice.
5399 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5400 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5401 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5402 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5403 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5404 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5405 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5406 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5407 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5408 canceled/superseded.
5410 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5412 @node Delayed Articles
5413 @section Delayed Articles
5414 @cindex delayed sending
5415 @cindex send delayed
5417 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5418 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5419 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5420 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5423 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5426 @findex gnus-delay-article
5427 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5428 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5429 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5430 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5434 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5435 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5436 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5437 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5440 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5441 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5442 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5445 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5446 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5447 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5448 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5449 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5450 that means a time tomorrow.
5453 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5454 couple of variables:
5457 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5458 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5459 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5460 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5462 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5463 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5464 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5465 formats described above.
5467 @item gnus-delay-group
5468 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5469 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5470 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5471 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5473 @item gnus-delay-header
5474 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5475 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5476 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5477 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5480 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5481 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5482 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5483 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5484 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5486 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5487 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5488 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5489 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5490 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5491 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5494 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5495 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5497 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5498 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5499 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5500 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5501 argument is ignored.
5503 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5504 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5505 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5509 @node Marking Articles
5510 @section Marking Articles
5511 @cindex article marking
5512 @cindex article ticking
5515 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5517 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5518 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5519 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5521 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5524 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5525 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5526 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5530 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5534 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5535 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5536 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5540 @node Unread Articles
5541 @subsection Unread Articles
5543 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5548 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5549 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5551 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5552 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5553 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5554 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5555 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5556 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5557 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5560 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5561 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5563 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5564 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5565 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5566 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5570 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5571 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5573 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5578 @subsection Read Articles
5579 @cindex expirable mark
5581 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5586 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5587 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5588 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5591 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5592 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5595 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5596 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5597 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5600 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5601 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5604 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5605 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5608 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5609 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5612 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5613 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5616 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5617 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5620 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5621 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5624 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5625 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5629 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5630 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5631 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5635 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5636 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5638 One more special mark, though:
5642 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5643 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5645 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5646 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5647 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5648 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5654 @subsection Other Marks
5655 @cindex process mark
5658 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5664 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5665 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5666 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5667 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5668 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5671 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5672 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5673 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5674 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5677 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5678 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5679 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5682 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5683 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5684 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5687 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5688 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5689 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5690 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5693 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5694 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5695 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5696 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5697 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5698 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5701 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5702 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5703 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5704 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5707 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5708 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5709 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5710 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5711 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5712 which character to use.)
5715 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5716 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5717 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5718 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5719 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5720 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5724 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5725 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5726 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5727 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5728 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5731 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5732 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5733 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5734 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5735 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5736 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5740 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5741 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5742 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5744 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5745 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5746 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5750 @subsection Setting Marks
5751 @cindex setting marks
5753 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5758 @kindex M c (Summary)
5759 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5760 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5761 @cindex mark as unread
5762 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5763 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5769 @kindex M t (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5771 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5772 @xref{Article Caching}.
5777 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5779 Mark the current article as dormant
5780 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5784 @kindex M d (Summary)
5786 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5787 Mark the current article as read
5788 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5792 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5793 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5794 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5799 @kindex M k (Summary)
5800 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5801 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5802 and then select the next unread article
5803 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5807 @kindex M K (Summary)
5808 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5810 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5811 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5814 @kindex M C (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5816 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5817 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5820 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5821 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5822 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5823 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5826 @kindex M H (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5828 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5832 @kindex M h (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5834 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5835 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5838 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5839 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5840 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5841 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5844 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5846 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5847 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5851 @kindex M e (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5854 Mark the current article as expirable
5855 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5858 @kindex M b (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5860 Set a bookmark in the current article
5861 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5864 @kindex M B (Summary)
5865 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5866 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5867 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5870 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5872 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5873 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5876 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5877 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5878 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5879 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5882 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5883 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5884 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5885 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5886 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5889 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5890 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5891 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5892 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5893 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5894 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5895 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5896 The default is @code{t}.
5899 @node Generic Marking Commands
5900 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5902 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5903 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5904 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5905 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5906 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5909 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5910 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5913 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5914 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5915 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5916 to list in this manual.
5918 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5919 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5920 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5921 article, you could say something like:
5924 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5925 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5926 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5932 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5933 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5937 @node Setting Process Marks
5938 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5939 @cindex setting process marks
5941 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
5942 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
5943 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
5944 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
5945 commands into the cache. For more information,
5946 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
5953 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5954 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5955 Mark the current article with the process mark
5956 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5957 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5961 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5962 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5963 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5964 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5967 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5968 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5969 Remove the process mark from all articles
5970 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5973 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5975 Invert the list of process marked articles
5976 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5979 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5980 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5981 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5982 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5985 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5987 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5988 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5991 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5993 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5997 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5998 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6001 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6002 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6003 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6004 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6007 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6008 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6009 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6010 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6013 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6014 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6015 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6016 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6019 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6020 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6021 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6024 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6025 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6026 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6027 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6030 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6031 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6032 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6035 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6036 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6037 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6038 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6041 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6042 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6043 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6044 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6047 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6048 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6049 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6050 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6053 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6054 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6055 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6056 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6060 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6061 set process marks based on article body contents.
6068 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6069 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6070 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6073 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6074 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6075 additional articles.
6081 @kindex / / (Summary)
6082 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6083 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6084 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6088 @kindex / a (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6090 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6091 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6095 @kindex / x (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6097 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6098 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6099 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6104 @kindex / u (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6107 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6108 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6109 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6110 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6113 @kindex / m (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6115 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6116 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6119 @kindex / t (Summary)
6120 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6121 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6122 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6123 articles younger than that number of days.
6126 @kindex / n (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6128 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6129 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6130 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6133 @kindex / w (Summary)
6134 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6135 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6136 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6140 @kindex / . (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6142 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6143 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6146 @kindex / v (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6148 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6149 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6152 @kindex / p (Summary)
6153 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6154 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6155 group parameter predicate
6156 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6157 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6161 @kindex M S (Summary)
6162 @kindex / E (Summary)
6163 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6164 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6165 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6168 @kindex / D (Summary)
6169 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6170 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6171 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6174 @kindex / * (Summary)
6175 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6176 Include all cached articles in the limit
6177 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6180 @kindex / d (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6182 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6183 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6186 @kindex / M (Summary)
6187 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6188 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6191 @kindex / T (Summary)
6192 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6193 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6196 @kindex / c (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6198 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6199 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6202 @kindex / C (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6204 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6205 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6206 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6209 @kindex / N (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6211 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6212 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6215 @kindex / o (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6217 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6218 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6226 @cindex article threading
6228 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6229 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6230 hierarchical fashion.
6232 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6233 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6234 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6235 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6236 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6237 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6238 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6240 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6244 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6247 A tree-like article structure.
6250 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6253 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6254 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6255 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6256 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6257 called loose threads.
6259 @item thread gathering
6260 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6262 @item sparse threads
6263 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6264 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6270 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6271 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6275 @node Customizing Threading
6276 @subsection Customizing Threading
6277 @cindex customizing threading
6280 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6281 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6282 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6283 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6288 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6291 @cindex loose threads
6294 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6295 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6296 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6297 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6298 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6299 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6301 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6302 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6303 There are four possible values:
6307 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6308 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6309 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6310 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6311 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6316 @cindex adopting articles
6321 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6322 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6323 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6324 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6327 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6328 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6329 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6330 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6331 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6332 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6333 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6334 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6335 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6336 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to t.
6339 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6340 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6341 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6345 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6346 display them after one another.
6349 Don't gather loose threads.
6352 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6353 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6354 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6355 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6356 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6357 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6358 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6359 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6360 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6361 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6362 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6364 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6365 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6366 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6369 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6370 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6371 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6372 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6373 simplification is used.
6375 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6376 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6377 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6378 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6380 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6382 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6388 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6389 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6390 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6391 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6396 (mapconcat 'identity
6397 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6399 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6402 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6405 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6406 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6407 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6408 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6409 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6410 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6412 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6415 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6416 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6417 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6419 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6420 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6423 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6424 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6425 Remove excessive whitespace.
6427 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6428 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6429 Remove all whitespace.
6432 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6435 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6436 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6437 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6438 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6439 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6440 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6441 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6442 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6444 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6445 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6446 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6447 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6448 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6449 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6450 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6451 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6452 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6456 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6457 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6458 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6459 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6461 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6462 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6463 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6466 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6470 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6471 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6477 @node Filling In Threads
6478 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6481 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6482 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6483 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6484 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6485 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6486 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6487 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6488 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6489 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6490 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6491 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6492 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6495 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6496 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6497 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6499 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6500 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6501 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6502 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6503 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6504 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6505 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6506 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6507 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6508 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6509 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6510 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6511 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6512 @code{nil} by default.
6514 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6515 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6516 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6517 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6518 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6519 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6520 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6522 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6523 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6524 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6529 @node More Threading
6530 @subsubsection More Threading
6533 @item gnus-show-threads
6534 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6535 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6536 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6537 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6538 slower and more awkward.
6540 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6541 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6542 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6545 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6546 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6547 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6552 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6553 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6554 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6557 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6558 unread, but you get my drift.)
6561 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6562 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6563 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6564 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6565 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6566 threads are expunged.
6568 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6569 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6570 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6573 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6574 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6575 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6576 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6577 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6578 result in a new thread.
6580 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6581 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6582 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6585 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6586 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6587 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6588 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6589 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6590 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6591 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6592 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6593 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6594 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6595 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6600 @node Low-Level Threading
6601 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6605 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6606 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6607 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6608 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6609 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6610 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6612 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6613 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6614 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6615 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6616 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6617 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6618 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6619 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6620 meaningful. Here's one example:
6623 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6625 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6626 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6628 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6630 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6637 @node Thread Commands
6638 @subsection Thread Commands
6639 @cindex thread commands
6645 @kindex T k (Summary)
6646 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6648 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6649 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6650 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6655 @kindex T l (Summary)
6656 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6657 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6658 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6659 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6662 @kindex T i (Summary)
6663 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6664 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6665 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6668 @kindex T # (Summary)
6669 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6670 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6671 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6674 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6676 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6677 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6680 @kindex T T (Summary)
6681 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6682 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6685 @kindex T s (Summary)
6686 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6687 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6688 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6691 @kindex T h (Summary)
6692 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6693 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6696 @kindex T S (Summary)
6697 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6698 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6701 @kindex T H (Summary)
6702 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6703 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6706 @kindex T t (Summary)
6707 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6708 Re-thread the current article's thread
6709 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6710 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6713 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6715 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6716 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6720 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6721 understand the numeric prefix.
6726 @kindex T n (Summary)
6728 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6730 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6731 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6732 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6735 @kindex T p (Summary)
6737 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6739 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6740 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6741 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6744 @kindex T d (Summary)
6745 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6746 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6749 @kindex T u (Summary)
6750 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6751 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6754 @kindex T o (Summary)
6755 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6756 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6759 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6760 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6761 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6762 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6763 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6764 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6765 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6766 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6767 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6768 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6769 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6770 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6774 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6775 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6777 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6778 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6779 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6780 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6781 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6782 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6783 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6784 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6785 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6786 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6787 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6788 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6789 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6791 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6792 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6793 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6794 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6795 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6796 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6797 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6798 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6800 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6801 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6802 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6804 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6805 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6806 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6807 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6808 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6809 ascending article order.
6811 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6812 by number, you could do something like:
6815 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6816 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6817 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6818 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6821 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6822 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6823 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6824 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6825 which the articles arrived.
6827 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6831 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6833 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6834 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6837 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6838 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6839 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6840 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6843 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6844 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6845 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6846 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6847 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6848 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6849 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6850 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6851 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6852 variable. It is very similar to the
6853 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6854 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6855 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6856 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6857 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6858 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6859 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6861 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6865 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6866 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6867 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6872 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6873 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6874 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6875 @cindex article pre-fetch
6878 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6879 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6880 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6881 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6882 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6884 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6885 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6887 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6888 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6889 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6890 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6891 connection is blocked.
6893 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6894 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6895 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6896 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6898 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6899 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6900 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6901 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6904 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6907 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6908 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6909 happen automatically.
6911 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6912 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6913 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6914 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6915 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6916 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6917 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6919 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6920 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6921 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6922 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6923 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6924 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6925 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6926 data structure as the only parameter.
6928 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6931 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6932 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6933 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6934 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6937 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6940 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6941 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6942 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6944 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6945 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6946 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6947 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6951 Remove articles when they are read.
6954 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6957 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6959 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6960 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6961 @c from the next group.
6964 @node Article Caching
6965 @section Article Caching
6966 @cindex article caching
6969 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6970 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6971 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6972 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6973 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6975 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6977 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6978 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6979 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6980 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6981 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6982 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6983 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6984 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6986 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6987 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6988 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6989 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6990 as dormant, and don't worry.
6992 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6994 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6995 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6996 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6997 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6998 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6999 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7000 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7001 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7002 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7003 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7005 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7006 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7007 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7008 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7009 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7010 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7011 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7012 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7013 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7014 not then be downloaded by this command.
7016 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7017 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7018 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7019 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7020 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7021 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7023 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7024 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7025 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7026 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7027 variables, the group is not cached.
7029 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7030 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7031 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7032 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7033 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7034 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7035 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7036 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7037 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7040 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7041 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7042 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7043 where, isn't that cool?
7045 @node Persistent Articles
7046 @section Persistent Articles
7047 @cindex persistent articles
7049 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7050 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7051 useful in my opinion.
7053 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7054 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7055 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7056 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7057 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7058 the expiry going on at the news server.
7060 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7061 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7062 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7068 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7069 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7072 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7073 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7074 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7075 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7079 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7081 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7082 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7083 interested in persistent articles:
7086 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7090 @node Article Backlog
7091 @section Article Backlog
7093 @cindex article backlog
7095 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7096 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7097 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7098 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7099 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7100 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7101 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7102 increase memory usage some.
7104 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7105 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7106 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7107 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7108 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7109 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7110 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7112 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7115 @node Saving Articles
7116 @section Saving Articles
7117 @cindex saving articles
7119 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7120 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7121 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7122 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7123 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7125 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7126 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7127 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7129 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7130 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7131 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7133 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7134 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7135 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7136 deleted before saving.
7142 @kindex O o (Summary)
7144 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7145 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7146 Save the current article using the default article saver
7147 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7150 @kindex O m (Summary)
7151 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7152 Save the current article in mail format
7153 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7156 @kindex O r (Summary)
7157 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7158 Save the current article in rmail format
7159 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7162 @kindex O f (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7164 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7165 Save the current article in plain file format
7166 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7169 @kindex O F (Summary)
7170 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7171 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7172 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7175 @kindex O b (Summary)
7176 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7177 Save the current article body in plain file format
7178 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7181 @kindex O h (Summary)
7182 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7183 Save the current article in mh folder format
7184 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7187 @kindex O v (Summary)
7188 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7189 Save the current article in a VM folder
7190 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7194 @kindex O p (Summary)
7196 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7197 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7198 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7199 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7200 complete headers in the piped output.
7203 @kindex O P (Summary)
7204 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7205 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7206 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7207 external program Muttprint (see
7208 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7209 options to use is controlled by the variable
7210 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7214 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7215 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7216 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7217 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7218 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7219 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7220 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7221 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7222 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7223 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7224 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7225 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7229 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7230 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7231 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7232 functions below, or you can create your own.
7236 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7237 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7238 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7239 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7240 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7241 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7242 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7244 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7245 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7246 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7247 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7248 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7249 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7251 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7252 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7253 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7254 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7255 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7256 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7257 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7259 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7260 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7261 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7262 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7263 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7264 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7266 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7267 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7268 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7269 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7270 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7272 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7273 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7274 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7275 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7276 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7279 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7280 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7281 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7282 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7283 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7285 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7286 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7287 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7288 reader to use this setting.
7291 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7292 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7293 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7294 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7297 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7298 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7299 available functions that generate names:
7303 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7304 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7305 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7307 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7308 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7309 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7311 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7312 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7313 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7315 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7316 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7317 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7319 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7320 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7321 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7324 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7325 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7326 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7327 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7328 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7332 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7333 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7334 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7335 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7338 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7339 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7340 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7341 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7342 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7343 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7344 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7345 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7346 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7348 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7349 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7350 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7351 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7353 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7354 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7355 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7358 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7359 lots of mail groups called things like
7360 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7361 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7362 following will do just that:
7365 (defun my-save-name (group)
7366 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7367 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7369 (setq gnus-split-methods
7370 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7375 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7376 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7377 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7378 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7379 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7380 all the files in the top level directory
7381 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7382 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7383 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7384 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7386 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7387 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7388 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7389 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7390 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7393 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7397 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7398 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7399 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7402 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7403 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7404 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7405 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7408 @node Decoding Articles
7409 @section Decoding Articles
7410 @cindex decoding articles
7412 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7413 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7416 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7417 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7418 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7419 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7420 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7421 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7425 @cindex article series
7426 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7427 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7428 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7429 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7430 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7432 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7433 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7434 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7436 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7437 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7438 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7440 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7441 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7442 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7445 @node Uuencoded Articles
7446 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7448 @cindex uuencoded articles
7453 @kindex X u (Summary)
7454 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7455 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7456 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7459 @kindex X U (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7461 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7462 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7465 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7467 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7470 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7471 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7472 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7473 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7477 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7478 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7479 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7480 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7481 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7483 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7484 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7485 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7486 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7489 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7490 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7491 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7492 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7493 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7494 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7498 @node Shell Archives
7499 @subsection Shell Archives
7501 @cindex shell archives
7502 @cindex shared articles
7504 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7505 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7506 some commands to deal with these:
7511 @kindex X s (Summary)
7512 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7513 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7516 @kindex X S (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7518 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7521 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7522 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7523 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7526 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7528 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7529 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7533 @node PostScript Files
7534 @subsection PostScript Files
7540 @kindex X p (Summary)
7541 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7542 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7545 @kindex X P (Summary)
7546 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7547 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7548 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7551 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7552 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7553 View the current PostScript series
7554 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7557 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7558 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7559 View and save the current PostScript series
7560 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7565 @subsection Other Files
7569 @kindex X o (Summary)
7570 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7571 Save the current series
7572 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7575 @kindex X b (Summary)
7576 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7577 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7578 doesn't really work yet.
7582 @node Decoding Variables
7583 @subsection Decoding Variables
7585 Adjective, not verb.
7588 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7589 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7590 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7594 @node Rule Variables
7595 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7596 @cindex rule variables
7598 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7599 variables are of the form
7602 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7609 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7610 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7612 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7613 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7616 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7617 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7620 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7621 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7622 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7623 user and default view rules.
7625 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7626 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7627 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7632 @node Other Decode Variables
7633 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7636 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7638 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7639 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7640 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7641 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7642 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7646 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7647 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7650 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7651 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7652 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7655 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7656 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7657 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7658 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7659 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7662 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7663 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7664 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7666 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7667 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7668 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7669 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7670 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7673 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7674 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7675 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7677 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7678 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7679 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7680 looking for files to display.
7682 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7683 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7684 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7687 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7688 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7689 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7692 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7693 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7694 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7697 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7698 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7699 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7702 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7703 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7704 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7705 decoded articles as unread.
7707 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7708 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7709 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7710 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7712 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7713 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7714 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7716 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7717 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7719 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7720 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7721 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7722 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7724 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7725 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7726 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7727 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7728 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7729 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7730 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7731 simply dropped them.
7736 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7737 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7741 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7742 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7743 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7744 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7745 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7746 for you when you post the article.
7748 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7749 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7750 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7751 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7753 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7754 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7755 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7756 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7757 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7758 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7759 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7761 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7762 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7763 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7764 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7765 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7766 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7767 Default is @code{t}.
7773 @subsection Viewing Files
7774 @cindex viewing files
7775 @cindex pseudo-articles
7777 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7778 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7779 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7780 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7781 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7782 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7783 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7785 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7786 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7787 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7788 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7790 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7791 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7792 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7794 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7795 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7796 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7797 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7798 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7800 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7801 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7802 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7803 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7804 a list of parameters to that command.
7806 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7807 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7808 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7810 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7811 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7812 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7815 @node Article Treatment
7816 @section Article Treatment
7818 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7819 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7820 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7821 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7822 these articles easier.
7825 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7826 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7827 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7828 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7829 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7830 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7831 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7832 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7833 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7834 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7838 @node Article Highlighting
7839 @subsection Article Highlighting
7840 @cindex highlighting
7842 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7843 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7848 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7849 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7850 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7851 Do much highlighting of the current article
7852 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7853 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7856 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7857 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7858 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7859 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7860 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7861 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7862 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7863 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7864 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7865 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7866 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7867 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7870 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7871 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7872 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7874 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7877 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7879 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7880 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7881 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7883 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7884 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7885 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7887 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7888 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7889 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7890 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7891 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7892 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7894 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7895 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7896 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7898 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7899 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7900 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7902 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7903 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7904 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7905 that it's a citation.
7907 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7908 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7909 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7911 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7912 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7913 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7915 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7916 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7917 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7918 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7924 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7925 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7926 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7927 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7928 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7929 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7930 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7931 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7936 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7939 @node Article Fontisizing
7940 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7942 @cindex article emphasis
7944 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7945 @kindex W e (Summary)
7946 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7947 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7948 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7949 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7951 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7952 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7953 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7954 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7955 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7956 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7957 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7958 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7962 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7963 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7964 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7973 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7974 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7975 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7976 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7977 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7978 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7979 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7980 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7981 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7982 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7983 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7984 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7985 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7987 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7988 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7989 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7993 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7996 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7998 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7999 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8000 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8001 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8003 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8006 @node Article Hiding
8007 @subsection Article Hiding
8008 @cindex article hiding
8010 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8011 too much cruft in most articles.
8016 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-article-hide
8018 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8019 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8020 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8023 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8024 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8025 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8029 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8030 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8031 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8032 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8035 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8036 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8037 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8041 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8042 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8043 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8044 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8045 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8046 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8047 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8048 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8052 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8053 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8054 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8055 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8060 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8061 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8062 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8063 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8064 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8065 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8066 articles that have signatures in them do:
8068 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8070 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8072 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8073 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8075 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8078 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8083 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8084 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8085 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8086 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8089 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8090 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8091 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8092 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8095 @cindex stripping advertisements
8096 @cindex advertisements
8097 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8098 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8099 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8100 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8101 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8102 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8103 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8104 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8105 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8106 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8109 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8110 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8111 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8115 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8116 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8117 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8118 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8119 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8120 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8121 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8122 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8123 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8124 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8125 following element to remove them:
8128 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8134 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8136 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8137 customizing the hiding:
8141 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8142 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8143 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8144 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8145 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8146 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8147 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8152 Starting point of the hidden text.
8154 Ending point of the hidden text.
8156 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8158 Number of lines of hidden text.
8161 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8162 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8163 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8164 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8165 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8170 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8171 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8173 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8174 following two variables:
8177 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8178 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8179 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8180 50), hide the cited text.
8182 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8183 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8184 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8189 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8190 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8191 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8192 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8193 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8194 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8198 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8199 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8200 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8202 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8203 citation customization.
8205 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8209 @node Article Washing
8210 @subsection Article Washing
8212 @cindex article washing
8214 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8215 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8217 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8218 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8221 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8222 articles by default.
8227 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8228 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8232 @kindex W l (Summary)
8233 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8234 Remove page breaks from the current article
8235 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8239 @kindex W r (Summary)
8240 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8241 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8242 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8243 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8244 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8245 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8247 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8248 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8249 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8250 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8253 @kindex W m (Summary)
8254 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8255 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8256 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8260 @kindex W t (Summary)
8262 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8263 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8264 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8267 @kindex W v (Summary)
8268 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8269 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8270 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8273 @kindex W m (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8275 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8276 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8279 @kindex W o (Summary)
8280 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8281 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8284 @kindex W d (Summary)
8285 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8286 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8288 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8290 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8291 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8292 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8293 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8296 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8297 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8298 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8299 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8302 @kindex W k (Summary)
8303 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8304 @cindex Outlook Express
8305 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8306 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8309 @kindex W w (Summary)
8310 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8311 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8313 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8317 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8318 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8319 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8322 @kindex W C (Summary)
8323 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8324 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8325 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8328 @kindex W c (Summary)
8329 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8330 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8331 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8332 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8333 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8336 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8337 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8338 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8339 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8340 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8341 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8342 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8344 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8347 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8348 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8349 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8350 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8351 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8354 @kindex W u (Summary)
8355 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8356 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8357 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8358 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8359 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8362 @kindex W h (Summary)
8363 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8364 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8365 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8366 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8368 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8370 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8371 The default is to use the function specified by
8372 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8373 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8374 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8375 you can use include:
8382 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8386 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8389 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8392 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8397 @kindex W b (Summary)
8398 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8399 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8400 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8403 @kindex W B (Summary)
8404 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8405 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8406 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8409 @kindex W p (Summary)
8410 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8411 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8412 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8413 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8414 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8415 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8416 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8419 @kindex W s (Summary)
8420 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8421 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8422 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8425 @kindex W a (Summary)
8426 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8427 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8428 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8431 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8433 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8434 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8437 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8438 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8439 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8440 lines with a single empty line.
8441 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8444 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8445 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8446 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8447 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8450 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8451 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8452 Do all the three commands above
8453 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8456 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8457 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8458 Remove all blank lines
8459 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8462 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8464 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8465 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8468 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8469 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8470 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8471 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8475 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8478 @node Article Header
8479 @subsection Article Header
8481 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8486 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8487 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8488 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8491 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8492 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8493 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8494 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8497 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8498 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8499 Fold all the message headers
8500 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8504 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8505 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8506 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8511 @node Article Buttons
8512 @subsection Article Buttons
8515 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8516 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8517 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8518 button on these references.
8520 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8521 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8522 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8523 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8524 one that handles article heads:
8528 @item gnus-button-alist
8529 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8530 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8533 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8539 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8540 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8541 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8542 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8543 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8546 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8547 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8548 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8551 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8552 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8553 avoid false matches.
8556 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8559 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8560 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8564 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8567 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8570 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8571 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8572 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8573 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8574 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8577 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8580 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8582 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8583 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8584 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8585 default values of the variables above.
8587 @item gnus-article-button-face
8588 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8589 Face used on buttons.
8591 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8592 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8593 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8597 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8601 @subsection Article Date
8603 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8604 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8605 when the article was sent.
8610 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8611 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8612 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8613 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8616 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8617 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8619 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8620 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8623 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8624 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8625 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8628 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8629 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8630 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8631 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8634 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8635 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8636 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8637 @findex format-time-string
8638 Display the date using a user-defined format
8639 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8640 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8641 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8642 for a list of possible format specs.
8645 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8646 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8647 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8648 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8649 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8650 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8653 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8656 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8657 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8660 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8661 into wonderful absurdities.
8663 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8666 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8669 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8670 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8674 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8675 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8676 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8677 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8678 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8679 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8680 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8684 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8685 preferred format automatically.
8688 @node Article Display
8689 @subsection Article Display
8694 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8695 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8697 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8698 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8700 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8701 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8703 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8704 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8706 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8711 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8713 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8714 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8717 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8718 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8719 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8722 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8723 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8724 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8727 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8728 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8729 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8730 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8733 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8734 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8735 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8736 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8739 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8740 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8741 Remove all images from the article buffer
8742 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8748 @node Article Signature
8749 @subsection Article Signature
8751 @cindex article signature
8753 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8754 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8755 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8756 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8757 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8758 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8759 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8760 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8761 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8764 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8765 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8766 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8767 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8768 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8769 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8770 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8771 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8774 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8777 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8778 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8779 signature when displaying articles.
8783 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8786 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8789 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8790 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8792 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8793 in question is not a signature.
8796 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8797 listed above. Here's an example:
8800 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8801 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8804 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8805 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8806 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8807 signature after all.
8810 @node Article Miscellania
8811 @subsection Article Miscellania
8815 @kindex A t (Summary)
8816 @findex gnus-article-babel
8817 Translate the article from one language to another
8818 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8824 @section MIME Commands
8825 @cindex MIME decoding
8827 @cindex viewing attachments
8829 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8830 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8836 @kindex K v (Summary)
8837 View the @sc{mime} part.
8840 @kindex K o (Summary)
8841 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8844 @kindex K c (Summary)
8845 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8848 @kindex K e (Summary)
8849 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8852 @kindex K i (Summary)
8853 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8856 @kindex K | (Summary)
8857 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8860 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8865 @kindex K b (Summary)
8866 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8867 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8871 @kindex K m (Summary)
8872 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8873 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8874 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8875 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8876 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8879 @kindex X m (Summary)
8880 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8881 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8882 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8883 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8886 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8887 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8888 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8889 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8892 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8893 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8894 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8895 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8898 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8899 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8900 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8901 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8903 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8904 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8905 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8906 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8907 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8908 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8911 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8912 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8913 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8914 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8921 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8922 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8923 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8924 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8927 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8930 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8934 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8935 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8936 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8937 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8938 displayed or this variable is overridden by
8939 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8940 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
8941 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
8943 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8944 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8945 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8946 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8947 displayed. This variable overrides
8948 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8949 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
8952 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8953 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8954 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
8956 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
8957 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
8958 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
8959 value is @code{nil}.
8961 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8962 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8963 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8964 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8965 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8966 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8967 save all jpegs into some directory).
8969 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8972 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8973 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8975 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8976 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8977 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8978 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8979 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8982 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8983 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8984 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8986 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8987 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8988 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8989 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8991 Ready-made functions include@*
8992 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8993 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8994 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8995 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8996 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8997 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8998 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8999 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9000 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9001 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9002 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9003 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9005 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9006 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9008 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9009 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9010 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9013 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9014 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9015 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9016 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9020 to your @file{.gnus} file.
9029 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9030 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9031 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9032 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9033 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9034 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9035 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9037 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9038 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9039 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9040 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9042 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9043 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9044 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9045 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9046 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9047 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9048 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9049 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9051 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9052 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9053 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9054 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9055 quoted-printable header encoding.
9057 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9058 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9059 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9063 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9066 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9067 means encode all charsets),
9069 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9070 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9071 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9078 @cindex coding system aliases
9079 @cindex preferred charset
9081 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9083 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9084 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9087 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9088 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9091 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9092 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9094 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9097 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9100 This will almost do the right thing.
9102 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9106 (codepage-setup 1251)
9107 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9111 @node Article Commands
9112 @section Article Commands
9119 @kindex A P (Summary)
9120 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9121 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9122 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9123 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9124 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9125 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9130 @node Summary Sorting
9131 @section Summary Sorting
9132 @cindex summary sorting
9134 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9135 can't really see why you'd want that.
9140 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9141 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9142 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9145 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9146 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9147 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9150 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9151 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9152 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9155 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9156 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9157 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9160 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9161 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9162 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9165 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9166 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9167 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9170 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9171 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9172 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9175 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9176 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9177 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9180 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9181 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9182 Sort using the default sorting method
9183 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9186 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9187 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9188 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9189 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9190 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9194 @node Finding the Parent
9195 @section Finding the Parent
9196 @cindex parent articles
9197 @cindex referring articles
9202 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9203 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9204 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9205 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9206 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9207 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9208 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9209 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9210 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9212 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9213 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9214 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9215 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9216 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9220 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9221 @kindex A R (Summary)
9222 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9223 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9226 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9227 @kindex A T (Summary)
9228 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9229 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9230 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9231 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9232 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9233 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9234 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9236 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9237 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9238 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9239 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9240 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9241 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9244 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9245 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9247 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9248 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9249 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9250 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9251 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9252 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9253 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9256 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9257 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9258 by giving this command a prefix.
9260 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9261 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9262 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9263 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9264 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9265 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9268 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9269 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9270 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9273 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9274 then ask Google if that fails:
9277 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9279 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9282 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9283 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9284 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9285 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9286 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9287 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9288 support this at all.
9291 @node Alternative Approaches
9292 @section Alternative Approaches
9294 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9295 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9298 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9299 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9304 @subsection Pick and Read
9305 @cindex pick and read
9307 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9308 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9309 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9310 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9312 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9313 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9314 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9315 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9316 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9317 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9319 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9324 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9325 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9326 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9327 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9328 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9329 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9330 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9331 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9334 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9335 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9336 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9337 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9341 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9342 Unpick the thread or article
9343 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9344 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9345 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9346 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9347 the thread or article at that line.
9351 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9352 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9353 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9354 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9355 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9356 will still be visible when you are reading.
9360 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9361 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9362 which is mapped to the same function
9363 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9365 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9368 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9371 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9372 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9374 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9375 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9376 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9378 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9379 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9380 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9381 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9382 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9383 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9384 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9388 @subsection Binary Groups
9389 @cindex binary groups
9391 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9392 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9393 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9394 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9395 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9396 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9397 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9400 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9401 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9402 command, when you have turned on this mode
9403 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9405 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9406 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9410 @section Tree Display
9413 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9414 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9415 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9416 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9419 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9422 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9423 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9424 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9426 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9427 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9428 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9429 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9430 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9432 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9433 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9434 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9435 default is @code{modeline}.
9437 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9438 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9439 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9440 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9441 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9442 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9443 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9449 The name of the poster.
9451 The @code{From} header.
9453 The number of the article.
9455 The opening bracket.
9457 The closing bracket.
9462 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9464 Variables related to the display are:
9467 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9468 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9469 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9470 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9471 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9472 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9474 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9475 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9476 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9477 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9481 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9482 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9483 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9484 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9485 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9486 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9487 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9488 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9489 other windows displayed next to it.
9491 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9495 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9496 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9499 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9500 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9501 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9502 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9503 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9504 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9505 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9509 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9512 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9522 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9526 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9527 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9529 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9531 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9536 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9537 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9538 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9541 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9542 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9543 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9544 (gnus-add-configuration
9548 (summary 0.75 point)
9553 @xref{Window Layout}.
9556 @node Mail Group Commands
9557 @section Mail Group Commands
9558 @cindex mail group commands
9560 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9561 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9563 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9564 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9569 @kindex B e (Summary)
9570 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9571 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9572 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9573 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9574 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9577 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9578 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9579 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9580 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9581 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9582 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9585 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9586 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9587 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9588 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9589 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9590 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9593 @kindex B m (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9596 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9597 Move the article from one mail group to another
9598 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9599 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9602 @kindex B c (Summary)
9604 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9605 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9606 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9607 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9608 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9611 @kindex B B (Summary)
9612 @cindex crosspost mail
9613 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9614 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9615 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9616 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9617 be properly updated.
9620 @kindex B i (Summary)
9621 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9622 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9623 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9624 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9627 @kindex B I (Summary)
9628 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9629 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9630 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9631 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9634 @kindex B r (Summary)
9635 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9636 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9637 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9638 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9639 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9640 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9641 (which is the default).
9645 @kindex B w (Summary)
9647 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9648 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9649 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9650 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9651 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9652 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9653 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9656 @kindex B q (Summary)
9657 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9658 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9659 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9660 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9663 @kindex B t (Summary)
9664 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9665 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9666 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9669 @kindex B p (Summary)
9670 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9671 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9672 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9673 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9674 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9675 article from your news server (or rather, from
9676 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9677 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9678 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9679 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9680 just not have arrived yet.
9683 @kindex K E (Summary)
9684 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9685 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9686 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9687 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9688 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9692 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9693 @cindex moving articles
9694 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9695 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9696 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9697 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9698 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9699 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9700 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9703 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9704 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9705 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9706 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9710 @node Various Summary Stuff
9711 @section Various Summary Stuff
9714 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9715 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9716 * Summary Generation Commands::
9717 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9721 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9722 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9723 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9725 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9726 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9727 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9728 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9729 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9730 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9733 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9734 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9735 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9736 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9737 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9739 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9740 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9741 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9744 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9745 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9746 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9747 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9748 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9749 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9750 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9751 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9752 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9753 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9755 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9756 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9757 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9758 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9759 list of articles to be selected.
9761 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9762 the list in one particular group:
9765 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9766 (if (string= group "some.group")
9767 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9771 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9772 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9773 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9774 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9775 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9776 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9777 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9778 buffers. For example:
9781 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9782 '(message-use-followup-to
9783 (gnus-visible-headers .
9784 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9790 @node Summary Group Information
9791 @subsection Summary Group Information
9796 @kindex H f (Summary)
9797 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9798 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9799 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9800 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9801 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9802 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9803 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9804 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9805 be used for fetching the file.
9808 @kindex H d (Summary)
9809 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9810 Give a brief description of the current group
9811 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9812 rereading the description from the server.
9815 @kindex H h (Summary)
9816 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9817 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9818 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9821 @kindex H i (Summary)
9822 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9823 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9827 @node Searching for Articles
9828 @subsection Searching for Articles
9833 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9834 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9835 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9836 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9839 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9840 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9841 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9842 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9846 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9847 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9848 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9849 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9850 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9851 search backward instead.
9853 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9854 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9857 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9858 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9859 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9860 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9863 @node Summary Generation Commands
9864 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9869 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9870 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9871 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9874 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9875 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9876 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9877 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9880 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9882 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9883 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
9888 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9889 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9895 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9896 @kindex A D (Summary)
9897 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9898 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9899 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9900 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9901 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9902 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9903 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9904 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9908 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9909 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9910 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9911 several documents into one biiig group
9912 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9913 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9914 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9915 command understands the process/prefix convention
9916 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9919 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9920 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9921 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9922 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9923 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9924 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9928 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9929 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9930 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9933 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9935 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9936 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9939 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9941 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9942 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9947 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9948 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9949 @cindex summary exit
9950 @cindex exiting groups
9952 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9953 group and return you to the group buffer.
9959 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9961 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9962 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9963 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9964 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9965 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9966 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9967 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9968 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9969 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9970 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9971 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9975 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9977 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9978 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9979 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9983 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9985 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9986 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9987 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9988 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9991 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9992 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9993 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9994 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9997 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9998 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9999 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10000 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10003 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10004 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10005 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10006 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10007 all articles, both read and unread.
10011 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10012 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10013 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10014 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10015 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10016 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10017 articles, both read and unread.
10020 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10021 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10022 Exit the group and go to the next group
10023 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10026 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10027 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10028 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10029 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10032 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10033 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10034 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10035 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10036 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10037 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10040 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10041 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10042 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10043 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10045 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10046 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10047 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10048 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10049 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10050 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10051 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10052 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10053 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10054 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10055 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10056 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10058 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10060 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10061 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10062 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10063 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10064 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10065 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10066 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10067 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10068 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10071 @node Crosspost Handling
10072 @section Crosspost Handling
10076 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10077 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10078 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10079 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10080 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10081 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10084 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10085 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10086 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10087 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10088 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10090 @cindex cross-posting
10093 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10094 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10095 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10096 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10097 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10098 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10099 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10100 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10101 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10102 the cross reference mechanism.
10104 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10105 @cindex overview.fmt
10106 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10107 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10108 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10109 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10110 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10111 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10114 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10115 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10116 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10121 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10124 @node Duplicate Suppression
10125 @section Duplicate Suppression
10127 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10128 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10129 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10130 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10135 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10136 is evil and not very common.
10139 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10140 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10143 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10144 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10147 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10150 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10151 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10153 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10154 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10155 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10156 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10157 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10158 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10159 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10162 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10163 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10164 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10165 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10166 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10167 saw the article in.
10170 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10171 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10172 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10174 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10175 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10176 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10177 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10178 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10179 session are suppressed.
10181 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10182 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10183 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10184 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10186 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10187 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10188 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10189 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10192 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10193 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10194 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10195 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10196 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10197 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10198 to you to figure out, I think.
10203 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10204 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10205 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10209 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10210 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10213 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10214 or newer is recommended.
10218 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10219 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10222 @item mm-verify-option
10223 @vindex mm-verify-option
10224 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10225 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10226 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10228 @item mm-decrypt-option
10229 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10230 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10231 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10232 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10237 @section Mailing List
10239 @kindex A M (summary)
10240 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10241 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10242 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10243 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10244 summary buffer, or say:
10247 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10250 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10255 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10256 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10257 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10260 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10261 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10262 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10265 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10266 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10267 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10271 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10272 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10273 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10276 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10277 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10278 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10281 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10282 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10283 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10287 @node Article Buffer
10288 @chapter Article Buffer
10289 @cindex article buffer
10291 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10292 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10293 tell gnus otherwise.
10296 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10297 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10298 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10299 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10300 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10304 @node Hiding Headers
10305 @section Hiding Headers
10306 @cindex hiding headers
10307 @cindex deleting headers
10309 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10310 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10312 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10313 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10314 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10315 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10316 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10317 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10318 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10319 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10320 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10322 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10326 @item gnus-visible-headers
10327 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10328 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10329 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10330 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10332 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10333 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10336 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10339 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10342 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10343 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10344 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10345 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10346 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10347 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10349 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10350 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10353 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10356 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10359 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10360 variable will have no effect.
10364 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10365 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10366 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10367 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10368 the headers are to be displayed.
10370 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10371 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10374 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10377 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10378 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10380 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10381 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10382 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10383 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10384 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10385 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10386 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10389 These conditions are:
10392 Remove all empty headers.
10394 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10395 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10397 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10398 @code{From} header.
10400 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10403 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10404 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10406 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10409 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10411 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10414 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10417 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10418 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10421 This is also the default value for this variable.
10425 @section Using MIME
10428 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10429 while people stand around yawning.
10431 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10432 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10434 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10435 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10436 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10438 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10439 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10440 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10441 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10442 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10443 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10444 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10445 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10446 not existed yet, sorry).
10448 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10449 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10450 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10451 These can't be avoided.
10453 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10454 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10455 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10456 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10457 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10458 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10459 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10460 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10461 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10464 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10466 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10467 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10468 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10469 buffer when there are nobody else.
10471 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10474 @node Customizing Articles
10475 @section Customizing Articles
10476 @cindex article customization
10478 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10479 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10480 called automatically when you select the articles.
10482 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10483 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10484 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10485 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10487 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10488 for sensible values.
10492 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10495 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10498 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10501 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10504 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10508 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10509 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10510 regexps in the list.
10513 A list where the first element is not a string:
10515 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10516 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10517 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10521 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10525 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10530 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10531 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10532 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10533 considered to contain just a single part.
10535 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10536 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10537 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10538 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10539 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10540 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10541 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10543 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10544 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10545 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10546 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10549 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10550 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10552 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10554 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10555 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10556 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10557 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10558 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10559 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10560 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10561 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10562 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10563 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10564 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10565 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10567 @xref{Article Washing}.
10569 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10570 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10571 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10572 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10573 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10574 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10575 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10577 @xref{Article Date}.
10579 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10580 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10581 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10585 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10587 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10589 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10590 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10591 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10595 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10599 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10600 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10601 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10602 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10603 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10604 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10605 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10606 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10608 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10610 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10611 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10612 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10614 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10616 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10617 @item gnus-treat-translate
10618 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10620 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10621 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10622 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10623 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10625 @xref{Article Header}.
10630 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10631 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10632 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10633 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10634 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10638 @node Article Keymap
10639 @section Article Keymap
10641 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10642 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10643 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10644 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10647 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10652 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10653 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10654 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10657 @kindex DEL (Article)
10658 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10659 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10662 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10663 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10664 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10665 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10666 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10669 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10670 @findex gnus-article-mail
10671 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10672 given a prefix, include the mail.
10675 @kindex s (Article)
10676 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10677 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10678 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10681 @kindex ? (Article)
10682 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10683 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10684 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10687 @kindex TAB (Article)
10688 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10689 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10690 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10693 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10694 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10695 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10698 @kindex R (Article)
10699 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10700 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10701 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10702 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10706 @kindex F (Article)
10707 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10708 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10709 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10710 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10718 @section Misc Article
10722 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10723 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10724 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10725 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10728 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10729 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10731 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10732 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10734 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10735 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10736 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10737 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10738 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10739 the contents of the article buffer.
10741 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10742 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10743 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10745 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10746 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10747 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10748 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10750 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10751 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10752 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10753 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10754 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10760 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10761 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10762 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10767 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10770 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10773 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10774 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10775 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10778 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10781 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10784 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10789 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10793 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10795 @item gnus-break-pages
10796 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10797 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10798 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10799 paging will not be done.
10801 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10802 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10803 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10808 @node Composing Messages
10809 @chapter Composing Messages
10810 @cindex composing messages
10813 @cindex sending mail
10818 @cindex using s/mime
10819 @cindex using smime
10821 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10822 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10823 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10824 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10825 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10826 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10829 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10830 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10831 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10832 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10833 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10834 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10835 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10836 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10839 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10840 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10846 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10849 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10850 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10851 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10852 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
10853 @code{nil} include all headers.
10855 @item gnus-add-to-list
10856 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10857 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10858 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10860 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10861 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10862 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10863 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10864 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10869 @node Posting Server
10870 @section Posting Server
10872 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10873 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10875 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10877 It can be quite complicated.
10879 @vindex gnus-post-method
10880 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10881 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10882 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10883 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10884 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10885 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10886 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10887 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10888 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10891 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10894 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10895 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10896 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10897 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10899 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10900 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10902 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10903 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10906 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10907 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10909 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10910 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10911 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10912 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10913 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10914 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10915 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10916 package correctly. An example:
10919 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10920 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10923 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10924 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10925 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10927 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10928 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10929 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10931 @node Mail and Post
10932 @section Mail and Post
10934 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10938 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10939 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10940 @cindex mailing lists
10942 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10943 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10944 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10945 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10946 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10947 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10948 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10949 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10950 still a pain, though.
10954 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10955 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10956 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10959 @findex ispell-message
10961 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10964 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10965 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10968 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10972 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10973 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10975 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10978 Modify to suit your needs.
10981 @node Archived Messages
10982 @section Archived Messages
10983 @cindex archived messages
10984 @cindex sent messages
10986 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10987 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10988 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10989 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10992 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10993 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10996 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10997 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
10998 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11001 (nnfolder "archive"
11002 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11003 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11004 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11005 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11008 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11009 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11010 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11011 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11014 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11015 '(nnfolder "archive"
11016 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11017 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11018 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11021 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11023 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11024 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11025 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11027 This variable can be used to do the following:
11032 Messages will be saved in that group.
11034 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11035 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11036 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11037 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11038 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11039 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11040 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11041 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11045 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11047 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11048 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11051 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11056 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11058 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11061 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11063 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11066 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11068 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11069 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11070 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11071 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11074 More complex stuff:
11076 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11077 '((if (message-news-p)
11082 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11083 messages in one file per month:
11086 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11087 '((if (message-news-p)
11089 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11092 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11093 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11095 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11096 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11097 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11098 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11099 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11100 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11101 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11102 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11103 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11104 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11106 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11107 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11108 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11109 this will disable archiving.
11112 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11113 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11114 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11115 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11116 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11119 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11120 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11121 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11124 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11125 but the latter is the preferred method.
11127 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11128 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11129 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11131 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11132 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11133 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11134 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11135 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11136 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11137 changed in the future.
11142 @node Posting Styles
11143 @section Posting Styles
11144 @cindex posting styles
11147 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11149 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11150 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11151 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11154 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11155 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11156 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11157 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11158 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11163 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11164 (organization "What me?"))
11166 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11167 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11168 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11171 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11172 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11173 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11174 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11175 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11176 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11177 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11178 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11180 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11181 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11182 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11183 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11184 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11185 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11186 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11187 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11188 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11189 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11190 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11193 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11194 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11195 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11196 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11197 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11198 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11199 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11200 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11201 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11202 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11205 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11206 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11207 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11208 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11209 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11210 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11211 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11212 references chars lines xref extra.
11214 @vindex message-reply-headers
11216 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11217 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11218 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11220 @findex message-mail-p
11221 @findex message-news-p
11223 So here's a new example:
11226 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11228 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11230 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11231 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11233 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11234 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11235 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11236 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11237 (signature my-news-signature))
11238 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11239 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11240 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11241 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11242 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11243 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11244 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11245 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11246 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11247 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11249 (From (save-excursion
11250 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11251 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11253 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11256 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11257 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11258 if you fill many roles.
11260 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11261 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11262 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11263 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11264 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11265 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11266 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11267 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11272 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11274 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11276 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11277 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11280 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11283 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11284 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11291 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11292 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11293 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11294 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11295 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11297 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11298 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11299 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11300 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11301 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11305 @vindex nndraft-directory
11306 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11307 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11308 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11309 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11310 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11311 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11313 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11314 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11317 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11318 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11319 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11320 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11321 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11322 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11323 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11324 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11325 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11326 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11327 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11328 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11329 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11330 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11332 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11333 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11334 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11336 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11337 @kindex D e (Draft)
11338 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11339 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11340 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11342 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11345 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11346 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11347 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11348 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11349 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11350 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11351 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11354 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11355 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11356 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11359 @node Rejected Articles
11360 @section Rejected Articles
11361 @cindex rejected articles
11363 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11364 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11365 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11366 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11368 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11369 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11370 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11371 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11372 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11374 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11375 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11376 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11378 @node Signing and encrypting
11379 @section Signing and encrypting
11381 @cindex using s/mime
11382 @cindex using smime
11384 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11385 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11386 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11387 (@pxref{Security}).
11389 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11390 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11391 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11393 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11394 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11395 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11396 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11397 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11398 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11399 automatically encrypted messages.
11401 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11402 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11403 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11408 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11409 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11411 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11414 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11415 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11417 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11420 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11421 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11423 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11426 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11427 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11429 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11432 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11433 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11435 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11438 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11439 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11441 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11444 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11445 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11446 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11450 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11452 @node Select Methods
11453 @chapter Select Methods
11454 @cindex foreign groups
11455 @cindex select methods
11457 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11458 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11459 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11460 personal mail group.
11462 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11463 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11464 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11465 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11466 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11467 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11469 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11470 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11472 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11475 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11476 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11477 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11478 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11479 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11481 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11484 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11485 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11486 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11487 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11488 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11489 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11490 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11491 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11495 @node Server Buffer
11496 @section Server Buffer
11498 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11499 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11500 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11501 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11502 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11503 back end represents a virtual server.
11505 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11506 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11507 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11508 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11510 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11511 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11512 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11513 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11514 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11515 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11516 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11518 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11519 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11522 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11523 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11524 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11525 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11526 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11527 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11528 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11531 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11532 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11535 @node Server Buffer Format
11536 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11537 @cindex server buffer format
11539 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11540 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11541 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11542 variable, with some simple extensions:
11547 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11550 The name of this server.
11553 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11556 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11559 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11560 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11561 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11562 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11572 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11575 @node Server Commands
11576 @subsection Server Commands
11577 @cindex server commands
11583 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11584 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11588 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11589 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11592 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11593 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11594 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11598 @findex gnus-server-exit
11599 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11603 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11604 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11608 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11609 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11613 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11614 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11618 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11619 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11623 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11624 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11625 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11630 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11631 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11632 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11633 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11638 @node Example Methods
11639 @subsection Example Methods
11641 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11644 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11647 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11653 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11654 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11657 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11658 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11660 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11661 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11665 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11668 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11669 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11671 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11672 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11673 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11677 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11680 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11683 Here's the method for a public spool:
11687 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11688 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11694 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11695 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11696 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11697 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11698 should probably look something like this:
11702 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11703 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11704 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11705 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11708 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11709 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11710 configuration to the example above:
11713 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11716 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11718 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11719 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11720 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11724 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11725 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11726 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11727 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11730 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11731 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11732 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11733 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11736 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11737 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11739 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11740 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11742 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11743 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11744 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11746 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11748 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11749 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11750 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11751 will contain the following:
11761 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11762 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11763 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11766 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11767 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11768 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11771 @node Server Variables
11772 @subsection Server Variables
11774 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11775 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11776 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11777 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11778 won't change the "derived" variables.
11780 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11781 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11782 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11783 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11784 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11785 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11786 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11787 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11788 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11792 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11793 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11794 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11798 @node Servers and Methods
11799 @subsection Servers and Methods
11801 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11802 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11803 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11804 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11808 @node Unavailable Servers
11809 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11811 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11812 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11813 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11814 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11815 actually the case or not.
11817 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11818 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11819 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11820 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11821 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11822 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11823 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11824 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11826 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11827 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11829 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11830 with the following commands:
11836 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11837 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11838 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11842 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11843 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11844 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11848 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11849 Mark the current server as unreachable
11850 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11853 @kindex M-o (Server)
11854 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11855 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11856 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11859 @kindex M-c (Server)
11860 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11861 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11862 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11866 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11867 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11868 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11872 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11873 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11879 @section Getting News
11880 @cindex reading news
11881 @cindex news back ends
11883 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11884 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11885 or it can read from a local spool.
11888 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11889 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11897 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11898 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11899 server as the, uhm, address.
11901 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11902 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11903 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11904 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11906 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11907 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11908 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11910 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11915 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11916 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11917 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11919 @cindex authentification
11920 @cindex nntp authentification
11921 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11922 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11923 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11924 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11925 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11926 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11927 present in this hook.
11929 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11930 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11931 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11932 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11933 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11934 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11935 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11936 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11937 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11938 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11939 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11940 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11944 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11947 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11949 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11950 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11951 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11952 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11953 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11954 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11955 @samp{force} is explained below.
11959 Here's an example file:
11962 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11963 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11966 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11967 have to be first, for instance.
11969 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11970 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11971 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11972 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11973 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11974 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11975 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11977 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11978 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11984 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11985 previously mentioned.
11987 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11989 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11990 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11991 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11992 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11993 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11996 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11997 '(("innd" (ding))))
12000 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12002 The default value is
12005 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12006 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12007 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12010 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12011 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12013 @item nntp-maximum-request
12014 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12015 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12016 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12017 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12018 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12019 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12020 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12022 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12023 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12024 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12025 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12026 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12027 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12028 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12029 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12030 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12031 no timeouts are done.
12033 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12034 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12035 @c @cindex PPP connections
12036 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12037 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12038 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12039 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12040 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12041 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12042 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12043 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12044 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12045 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12047 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12048 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12049 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12050 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12051 @c described above.
12053 @item nntp-server-hook
12054 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12055 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12058 @item nntp-buggy-select
12059 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12060 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12062 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12063 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12064 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12065 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12068 @item nntp-xover-commands
12069 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12072 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12073 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12077 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12078 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12079 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12080 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12081 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12082 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12083 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12084 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12085 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12086 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12087 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12089 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12090 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12091 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12093 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12094 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12095 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12096 server closes connection.
12098 @item nntp-record-commands
12099 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12100 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12101 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12102 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12103 that doesn't seem to work.
12105 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12106 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12107 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12108 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12109 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12110 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12111 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12112 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12114 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12115 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12116 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12117 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12118 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12119 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12120 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12123 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12126 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12127 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12129 @item nntp-list-options
12130 @vindex nntp-list-options
12131 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12132 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12133 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12134 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12135 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12139 (setq gnus-select-method
12140 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12141 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12144 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12145 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12146 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12147 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12148 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12149 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12150 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12153 (setq gnus-select-method
12154 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12155 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12158 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12159 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12160 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12161 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12162 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12163 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12164 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12167 (setq gnus-select-method
12168 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12169 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12174 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12175 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12176 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12180 @node Direct Functions
12181 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12182 @cindex direct connection functions
12184 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12185 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12186 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12187 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12190 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12191 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12192 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12195 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12196 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12197 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12198 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12199 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12200 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12201 define a server as follows:
12204 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12206 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12207 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12209 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12210 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12211 (nntp-port-number 563)
12212 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12215 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12216 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12217 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12218 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12219 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12220 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12221 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12222 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12226 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12227 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12228 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12231 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12232 session, which is not a good idea.
12236 @node Indirect Functions
12237 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12238 @cindex indirect connection functions
12240 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12241 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12242 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12243 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12244 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12245 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12248 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12249 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12250 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12251 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12252 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12254 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12257 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12258 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12259 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12260 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12262 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12263 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12264 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12265 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12266 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12267 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12268 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12269 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12272 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12273 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12274 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12275 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12277 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12280 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12281 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12282 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12285 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12286 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12287 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12288 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12290 @item nntp-via-user-password
12291 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12292 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12294 @item nntp-via-envuser
12295 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12296 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12297 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12298 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12300 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12301 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12302 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12303 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12310 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12315 @item nntp-via-user-name
12316 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12317 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12319 @item nntp-via-address
12320 @vindex nntp-via-address
12321 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12326 @node Common Variables
12327 @subsubsection Common Variables
12329 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12330 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12335 @item nntp-pre-command
12336 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12337 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12338 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12339 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12340 wrapper for instance.
12343 @vindex nntp-address
12344 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12346 @item nntp-port-number
12347 @vindex nntp-port-number
12348 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12349 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12350 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12351 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12353 @item nntp-end-of-line
12354 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12355 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12356 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12357 using a non native connection function.
12359 @item nntp-telnet-command
12360 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12361 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12362 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12363 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12365 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12366 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12367 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12374 @subsection News Spool
12378 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12379 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12380 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12383 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12384 anything else) as the address.
12386 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12387 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12388 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12389 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12393 @item nnspool-inews-program
12394 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12395 Program used to post an article.
12397 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12398 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12399 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12401 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12402 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12403 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12404 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12406 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12407 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12408 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12409 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12411 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12412 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12413 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12415 @item nnspool-active-file
12416 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12417 The path to the active file.
12419 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12420 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12421 The path to the group descriptions file.
12423 @item nnspool-history-file
12424 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12425 The path to the news history file.
12427 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12428 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12429 The path to the active date file.
12431 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12432 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12433 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12436 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12437 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12439 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12440 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12441 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12447 @section Getting Mail
12448 @cindex reading mail
12451 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12455 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12456 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12457 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12458 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12459 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12460 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12461 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12462 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12463 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12464 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12465 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12466 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12467 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12471 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12472 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12474 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12475 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12476 of a culture shock.
12478 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12479 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12481 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12482 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12483 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12484 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12486 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12488 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12489 deleted? How awful!
12491 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12492 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12493 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12494 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12497 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12498 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12499 they want to treat a message.
12501 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12502 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12503 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12504 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12505 archived somewhere else.
12507 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12508 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12509 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12510 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12511 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12513 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12514 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12515 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12517 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12518 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12521 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12522 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12523 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12524 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12525 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12527 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12528 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12529 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12530 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12531 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12532 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12536 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12537 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12539 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12540 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12541 and things will happen automatically.
12543 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12544 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12547 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12550 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12551 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12552 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12553 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12554 like any other group.
12556 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12559 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12560 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12561 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12565 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12566 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12567 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12570 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12571 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12572 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12575 @node Splitting Mail
12576 @subsection Splitting Mail
12577 @cindex splitting mail
12578 @cindex mail splitting
12580 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12581 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12582 to be split into groups.
12585 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12586 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12587 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12588 ("mail.other" "")))
12591 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12592 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12593 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12594 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12595 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12596 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12597 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12600 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12603 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12604 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12605 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12606 mail belongs in that group.
12608 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12609 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12610 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12611 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12612 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12613 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12615 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12616 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12617 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12618 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12619 thinks should carry this mail message.
12621 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12622 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12623 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12624 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12626 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12627 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12628 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12629 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12630 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12632 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12635 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12636 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12637 links. If that's the case for you, set
12638 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12639 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12641 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12642 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12643 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12644 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12645 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12646 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12649 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12650 Header lines longer than the value of
12651 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12654 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12655 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12656 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12657 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12658 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12659 can be turned off completely by binding
12660 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12661 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12663 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12664 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12665 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12666 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12667 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12668 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12669 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12672 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12673 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12674 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12675 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12676 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12677 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12678 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12679 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12680 month's rent money.
12684 @subsection Mail Sources
12686 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12687 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12691 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12692 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12693 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12697 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12698 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12700 @cindex mail server
12703 @cindex mail source
12705 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12706 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12711 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12714 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12715 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12716 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12719 The following mail source types are available:
12723 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12729 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12730 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12731 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12734 An example file mail source:
12737 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12740 Or using the default path:
12746 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12747 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12748 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12751 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12755 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12758 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12762 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12765 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12767 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12770 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12774 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12775 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12776 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12777 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12778 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12779 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12780 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12781 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12782 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12783 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12785 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12786 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12787 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12788 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12794 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12798 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12802 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12803 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12804 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12805 predicate are considered.
12809 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12813 An example directory mail source:
12816 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12821 Get mail from a POP server.
12827 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12828 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12831 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12832 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12833 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12834 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12835 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12838 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12842 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12846 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12847 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12850 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12853 The valid format specifier characters are:
12857 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12858 included in this string.
12861 The name of the server.
12864 The port number of the server.
12867 The user name to use.
12870 The password to use.
12873 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12874 corresponding keywords.
12877 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12878 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12881 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12882 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12885 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12886 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12889 @item :authentication
12890 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12891 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12895 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
12896 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
12897 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
12898 programs and libraries:
12902 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
12903 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
12904 library @samp{ssl.el}.
12906 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
12907 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
12912 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
12913 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
12917 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12918 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12920 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12921 default user name, and default fetcher:
12927 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12930 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12931 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12934 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12937 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12941 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12942 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12943 contains exactly one mail.
12949 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12950 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12953 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12954 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12956 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12957 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12958 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12961 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12962 from locking problems).
12966 Two example maildir mail sources:
12969 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12970 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12974 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12979 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12980 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12981 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12982 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12985 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12986 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12992 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12993 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12996 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12997 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13000 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13004 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13008 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13009 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13010 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13011 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13013 @item :authentication
13014 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13015 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13016 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13017 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13020 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13021 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
13022 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13028 The valid format specifier characters are:
13032 The name of the server.
13035 User name from `imap-default-user'.
13038 The port number of the server.
13041 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13042 corresponding keywords.
13045 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13046 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13049 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13050 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13051 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13052 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13053 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13054 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13057 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13058 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13059 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13060 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13063 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13064 after finishing the fetch.
13068 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13071 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13073 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13077 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13078 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13079 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13081 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13082 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13084 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13090 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13091 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13094 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13098 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13102 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13103 folder after finishing the fetch.
13107 An example webmail source:
13110 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13112 :password "secret")
13117 @item Common Keywords
13118 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13124 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13125 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13129 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13134 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13135 useful when you use local mail and news.
13140 @subsubsection Function Interface
13142 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13143 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13144 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13145 consider the following mail-source setting:
13148 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13149 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13152 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13153 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13154 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13155 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13156 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13158 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13161 @node Mail Source Customization
13162 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13164 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13165 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13169 @item mail-source-crash-box
13170 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13171 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13172 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13174 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13175 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13176 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13178 @item mail-source-directory
13179 @vindex mail-source-directory
13180 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13181 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13182 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13185 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13186 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13187 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13188 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13189 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13190 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13192 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13193 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13194 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13196 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13197 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13198 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13199 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13204 @node Fetching Mail
13205 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13207 @vindex mail-sources
13208 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13209 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13210 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13211 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13213 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13214 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13217 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13218 mail server, you'd say something like:
13223 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13224 :password "secret")))
13227 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13231 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13232 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13235 :password "secret")))
13239 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13240 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13241 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13242 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13243 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13244 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13248 @node Mail Back End Variables
13249 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13251 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13255 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13256 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13257 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13258 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13260 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13261 @item nnmail-split-hook
13262 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13263 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13264 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13265 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13266 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13267 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13268 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13269 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13270 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13273 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13274 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13275 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13276 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13277 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13278 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13279 starting to handle the new mail) and
13280 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13281 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13282 default file modes the new mail files get:
13285 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13286 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13288 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13289 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13292 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13293 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13294 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13295 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13296 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13297 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13298 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13300 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13301 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13302 @findex delete-file
13303 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13305 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13306 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13307 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13308 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13309 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13311 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13312 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13313 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13314 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13315 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13317 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13318 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13319 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13324 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13325 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13326 @cindex mail splitting
13327 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13329 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13330 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13331 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13332 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13333 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13334 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13336 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13339 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13340 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13341 ;; from real errors.
13342 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13344 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13345 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13346 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13347 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13348 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13349 ;; Other mailing lists...
13350 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13351 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13352 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13353 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13354 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13355 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13356 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13357 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13359 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13360 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13364 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13365 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13366 the five possible split syntaxes:
13371 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13372 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13376 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13377 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13378 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13379 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13380 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13381 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13382 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13383 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13386 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13387 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13388 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13389 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13392 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13393 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13396 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13397 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13400 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13401 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13402 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13403 function should return a @var{split}.
13406 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13407 body of the messages:
13410 (defun split-on-body ()
13412 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13413 (goto-char (point-min))
13414 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13418 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13419 when the @code{:} function is run.
13422 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13423 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13424 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13428 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13432 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13433 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13434 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13435 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13436 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13438 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13439 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13440 are expanded as specified by the variable
13441 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13442 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13445 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13446 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13447 when all this splitting is performed.
13449 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13450 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13451 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13454 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13457 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13458 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13460 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13461 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13462 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13463 groupings 1 through 9.
13465 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13466 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13467 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13468 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13469 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13470 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13471 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13472 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13473 it once per thread.
13475 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13476 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13477 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13480 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13481 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13483 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13484 ;; other splits go here
13488 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13489 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13490 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13491 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13492 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13493 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13494 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13495 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13496 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13497 unless the group name matches the regexp
13498 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13499 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13500 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13501 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13502 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13503 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13504 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13505 messages goes into the new group.
13507 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13508 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13509 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13510 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13511 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13515 @node Group Mail Splitting
13516 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13517 @cindex mail splitting
13518 @cindex group mail splitting
13520 @findex gnus-group-split
13521 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13522 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13523 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13524 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13525 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13526 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13527 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13528 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13530 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13531 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13532 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13533 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13535 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13536 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13537 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13538 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13539 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13540 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13541 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13543 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13544 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13545 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13546 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13547 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13548 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13549 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13551 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13552 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13553 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13554 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13555 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13556 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13557 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13558 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13559 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13560 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13561 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13562 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13563 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13565 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13570 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13571 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13573 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13574 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13575 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13576 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13578 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13581 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13582 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13583 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13586 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13587 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13588 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13592 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13593 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13594 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13598 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13601 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13602 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13603 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13604 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13605 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13606 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13607 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13608 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13609 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13611 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13612 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13613 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13614 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13615 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13616 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13617 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13618 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13619 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13621 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13622 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13623 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13624 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13625 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13626 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13629 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13632 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13633 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13634 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13635 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13636 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13639 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13640 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13641 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13642 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13644 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13645 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13646 @cindex incorporating old mail
13647 @cindex import old mail
13649 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13650 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13651 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13654 Doing so can be quite easy.
13656 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13657 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13658 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13659 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13660 your @code{nnml} groups.
13666 Go to the group buffer.
13669 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13670 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13673 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13676 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13677 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13680 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13681 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13684 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13685 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13686 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13687 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13688 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13690 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13691 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13692 using the new mail back end.
13695 @node Expiring Mail
13696 @subsection Expiring Mail
13697 @cindex article expiry
13699 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13700 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13701 different approach to mail reading.
13703 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13704 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13705 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13706 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13707 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13708 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13711 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13712 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13713 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13714 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13715 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13716 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13717 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13718 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13719 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13721 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13722 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13723 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13724 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13725 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13726 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13727 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13730 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13731 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13732 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13733 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13734 into its own group.)
13736 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13737 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13738 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13739 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13740 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13741 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13742 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13743 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13746 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13747 Groups that match the regular expression
13748 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13749 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13750 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13752 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13753 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13754 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13755 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13758 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13760 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13761 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13762 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13765 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13766 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13767 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13768 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13769 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13771 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13772 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13775 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13776 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13779 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13780 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13782 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13783 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13784 don't really mix very well.
13786 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13787 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13788 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13789 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13792 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13793 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13794 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13795 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13798 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13800 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13802 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13804 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13806 ((string= group "important")
13812 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13813 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13815 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13816 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13817 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13820 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13821 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13823 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13824 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13825 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13826 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13827 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13828 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13829 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13830 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13831 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13832 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13833 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13834 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13835 name or @code{delete}.
13837 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13839 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13842 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13843 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13844 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13845 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13846 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13849 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13850 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13851 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13852 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13853 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13856 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13857 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13858 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13859 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13860 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13861 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13863 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13864 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13865 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13866 easier for procmail users.
13868 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13869 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13870 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13871 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13872 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13873 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13874 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13875 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13876 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13877 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13878 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13879 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13880 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13883 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13885 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13886 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13887 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13888 auto-expire turned on.
13892 @subsection Washing Mail
13893 @cindex mail washing
13894 @cindex list server brain damage
13895 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13897 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13898 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13899 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13900 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13901 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13902 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13904 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13905 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13906 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13909 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13910 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13911 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13912 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13915 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13916 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13917 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13918 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13919 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13922 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13923 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13924 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13925 Emacs running on MS machines.
13929 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13930 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13931 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13932 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13935 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13936 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13937 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13938 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13940 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13941 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13942 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13943 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13944 into a feature by documenting it.)
13946 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13947 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13948 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13949 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13950 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13951 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13952 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13955 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13956 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13959 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13960 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13963 This can also be done non-destructively with
13964 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13966 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13967 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13968 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13970 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13971 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13973 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13974 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13975 @code{References} headers.
13979 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13980 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13981 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13985 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13986 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13987 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13994 @subsection Duplicates
13996 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13997 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13998 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13999 @cindex duplicate mails
14000 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14001 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14002 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14003 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14004 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14005 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14006 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14007 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14008 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14009 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14010 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14011 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14012 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14014 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14015 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14016 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14017 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14019 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14022 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14023 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14027 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14028 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14029 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14030 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14031 (any mail "mail.misc")
14038 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14039 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14044 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14045 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14046 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14047 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14048 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14051 @node Not Reading Mail
14052 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14054 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14055 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14056 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14058 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14059 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14060 mail, which should help.
14062 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14063 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14064 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14065 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14066 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14067 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14068 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14069 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14070 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14071 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14072 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14074 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14075 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14079 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14080 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14082 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14083 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14084 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14086 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14087 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14088 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14089 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14090 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14091 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14092 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14095 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14096 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14097 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14098 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14099 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14100 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14104 @node Unix Mail Box
14105 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14107 @cindex unix mail box
14109 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14110 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14111 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14112 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14113 which group it belongs in.
14115 Virtual server settings:
14118 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14119 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14120 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14123 @item nnmbox-active-file
14124 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14125 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14126 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14128 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14129 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14130 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14131 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14136 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14140 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14141 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14142 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14143 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14144 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14146 Virtual server settings:
14149 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14150 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14151 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14153 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14154 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14155 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14156 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14158 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14159 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14160 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14166 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14168 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14170 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14171 format. It should be used with some caution.
14173 @vindex nnml-directory
14174 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14175 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14176 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14177 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14179 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14182 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14183 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14184 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14185 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14186 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14187 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14188 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14189 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14191 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14192 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14193 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14194 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14196 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14198 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14199 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14200 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14201 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14202 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14203 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14204 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14205 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14208 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14209 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14210 them next time it starts.
14212 Virtual server settings:
14215 @item nnml-directory
14216 @vindex nnml-directory
14217 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14218 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14221 @item nnml-active-file
14222 @vindex nnml-active-file
14223 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14224 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14226 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14227 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14228 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14229 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14231 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14232 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14233 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14236 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14237 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14238 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14239 default is @code{nil}.
14241 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14242 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14243 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14245 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14246 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14247 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14249 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14250 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14251 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14252 default is @code{nil}.
14254 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14255 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14256 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14258 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14259 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14260 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14265 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14266 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14267 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14268 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14269 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14270 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14271 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14276 @subsubsection MH Spool
14278 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14280 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14281 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14282 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14283 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14285 Virtual server settings:
14288 @item nnmh-directory
14289 @vindex nnmh-directory
14290 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14291 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14294 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14295 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14296 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14300 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14301 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14302 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14303 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14304 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14305 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14306 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14311 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14313 @cindex mbox folders
14314 @cindex mail folders
14316 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14317 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14318 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14321 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14323 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14324 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14325 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14326 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14327 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14328 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14329 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14330 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14331 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14332 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14334 Virtual server settings:
14337 @item nnfolder-directory
14338 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14339 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14340 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14343 @item nnfolder-active-file
14344 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14345 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14347 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14348 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14349 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14350 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14352 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14353 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14354 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14357 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14358 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14359 @cindex backup files
14360 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14361 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14362 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14363 your @file{.emacs} file:
14366 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14367 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14369 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14372 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14373 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14374 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14375 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14376 extract some information from it before removing it.
14378 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14379 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14380 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14381 default is @code{nil}.
14383 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14384 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14385 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14387 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14388 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14389 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14390 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14392 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14393 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14394 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14395 default is @code{nil}.
14397 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14398 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14399 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14401 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14402 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14403 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14404 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14409 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14410 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14411 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14412 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14413 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14414 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14417 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14418 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14420 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14421 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14422 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14423 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14424 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14426 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14427 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14428 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14429 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14430 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14431 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14432 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14433 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14436 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14437 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14438 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14439 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14444 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14445 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14446 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14447 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14448 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14449 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14450 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14451 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14452 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14453 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14454 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14455 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14456 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14461 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14462 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14463 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14464 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14465 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14466 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14467 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14468 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14469 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14470 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14471 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14472 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14473 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14474 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14476 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14477 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14482 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14483 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14484 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14485 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14486 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14487 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14488 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14489 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14490 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14491 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14492 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14493 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14494 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14495 provided by the active file and overviews.
14497 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14498 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14499 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14500 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14501 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14504 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14505 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14510 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14511 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14512 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14513 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14514 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14515 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14516 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14520 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14521 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14522 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14523 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14524 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14525 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14526 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14527 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14528 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14530 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14531 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14532 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14533 friendly mail back end all over.
14537 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14538 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14539 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14540 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14541 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14542 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14543 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14544 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14547 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14548 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14549 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14550 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14551 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14552 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14553 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14554 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14555 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14556 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14557 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14559 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14560 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14561 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14562 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14563 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14564 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14565 This will probably be changed in the future.
14567 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14568 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14569 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14570 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14571 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14574 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14575 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14577 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14578 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14579 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14580 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14581 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14582 would) to make it use less memory.
14584 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14585 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14586 depending in part on your file system.
14588 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14589 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14594 @node Browsing the Web
14595 @section Browsing the Web
14597 @cindex browsing the web
14601 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14602 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14603 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14604 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14605 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14606 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14607 even know what a news group is.
14609 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14610 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14611 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14612 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14613 you mad in the end.
14615 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14618 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14619 interfaces to these sources.
14623 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14624 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14625 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14626 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14627 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14628 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14631 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14633 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14634 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14635 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14636 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14637 though, you should be ok.
14639 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14640 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14641 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14642 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14643 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14645 @node Archiving Mail
14646 @subsection Archiving Mail
14647 @cindex archiving mail
14648 @cindex backup of mail
14650 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14651 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14652 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14653 marks is fairly simple.
14655 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14656 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14659 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14660 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14661 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14662 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14663 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14664 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14665 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14666 before you restore the data.
14668 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14669 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14670 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14671 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14672 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14673 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14674 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14675 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14676 is unnecessary in that case.
14679 @subsection Web Searches
14684 @cindex Usenet searches
14685 @cindex searching the Usenet
14687 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14688 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14689 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14690 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14691 searches without having to use a browser.
14693 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14694 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14695 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14696 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14697 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14699 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14700 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14701 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14702 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14703 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14704 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14705 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14706 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14707 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14708 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14711 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14712 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14713 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14714 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14715 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14716 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14718 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14719 to use @code{nnweb}.
14721 Virtual server variables:
14726 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14727 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14728 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14731 @vindex nnweb-search
14732 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14734 @item nnweb-max-hits
14735 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14736 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14739 @item nnweb-type-definition
14740 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14741 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14742 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14747 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14751 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14754 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14757 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14761 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14768 @subsection Slashdot
14772 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14773 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14774 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14776 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14777 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14780 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14781 '((nnslashdot "")))
14784 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14785 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14786 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14787 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14788 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14791 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14792 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14794 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14795 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14796 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14797 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14798 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14799 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14802 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14805 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14806 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14807 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14808 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14809 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14810 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14811 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14813 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14814 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14815 The login name to use when posting.
14817 @item nnslashdot-password
14818 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14819 The password to use when posting.
14821 @item nnslashdot-directory
14822 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14823 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14824 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14826 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14827 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14828 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14829 news articles and comments. The default is
14830 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14832 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14833 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14834 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14836 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14838 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14839 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14840 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14842 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14844 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14845 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14846 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14848 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14849 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14850 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14851 updated. The default is 0.
14858 @subsection Ultimate
14860 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14862 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14863 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14864 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14865 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14867 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14868 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14869 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14870 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14871 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14872 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14873 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14875 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14878 @item nnultimate-directory
14879 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14880 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14881 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14886 @subsection Web Archive
14888 @cindex Web Archive
14890 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14891 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14892 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14893 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14896 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14897 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14898 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14899 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14900 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14901 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14902 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14904 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14907 @item nnwarchive-directory
14908 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14909 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14910 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14912 @item nnwarchive-login
14913 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14914 The account name on the web server.
14916 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14917 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14918 The password for your account on the web server.
14926 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14927 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14928 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14931 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14932 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14935 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14938 @item nnrss-directory
14939 @vindex nnrss-directory
14940 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14941 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14945 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14946 the summary buffer.
14949 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14950 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14952 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14954 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14955 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14958 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14961 (require 'browse-url)
14963 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14965 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14968 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14969 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14972 (browse-url (cdr url))
14973 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
14974 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14976 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14977 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14978 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14979 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14982 @node Customizing w3
14983 @subsection Customizing w3
14989 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14990 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14991 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14993 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14994 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14995 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14998 (eval-after-load "w3"
15000 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15001 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15002 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15003 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15005 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15008 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15009 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15018 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15019 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15020 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15021 specify the network address of the server.
15023 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15024 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15025 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15026 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15027 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15029 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15030 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15031 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15032 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15034 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15035 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15036 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15037 usage explained in this section.
15039 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15040 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15041 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15044 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15045 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15046 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15048 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15049 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15050 ; a UW server running on localhost
15052 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15053 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15054 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15055 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15056 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15057 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15058 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15059 (nnimap-stream network))
15060 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15062 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15063 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15064 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15067 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15072 @item nnimap-address
15073 @vindex nnimap-address
15075 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15076 server name if not specified.
15078 @item nnimap-server-port
15079 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15080 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15082 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15085 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15086 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15089 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15090 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15091 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15092 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15093 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15094 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15095 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15097 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15098 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15099 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15102 Example server specification:
15105 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15106 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15107 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15110 @item nnimap-stream
15111 @vindex nnimap-stream
15112 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15113 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15114 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15115 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15117 Example server specification:
15120 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15121 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15124 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15128 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15129 @samp{imtest} program.
15131 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15133 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15134 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15137 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15138 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15139 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15141 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15143 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15146 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15147 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15148 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15149 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15150 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15151 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15152 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15153 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15154 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15157 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15158 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15159 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15160 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15161 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15162 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15163 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15164 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15165 distribution, for instance).
15167 @vindex imap-shell-program
15168 @vindex imap-shell-host
15169 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15170 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15172 @item nnimap-authenticator
15173 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15175 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15176 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15178 Example server specification:
15181 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15182 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15185 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15189 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15190 external program @code{imtest}.
15192 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15195 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15196 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15198 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15200 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15202 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15205 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15207 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15208 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15209 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15210 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15211 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15212 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15215 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15216 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15217 running in circles yet?
15219 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15220 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15223 The possible options are:
15228 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15231 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15232 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15233 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15234 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15236 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15241 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15242 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15244 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15245 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15246 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15247 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15248 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15251 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15252 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15255 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15256 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15257 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15258 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15261 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15262 as ticked for other users.
15264 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15266 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15268 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15269 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15270 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15271 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15273 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15274 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15275 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15276 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15278 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15279 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15281 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15282 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15283 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15289 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15290 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15291 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15292 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15293 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15298 @node Splitting in IMAP
15299 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15300 @cindex splitting imap mail
15302 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15303 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15304 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15305 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15306 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15310 Here are the variables of interest:
15314 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15315 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15317 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15319 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15320 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15322 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15324 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15325 @cindex splitting, inbox
15327 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15329 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15330 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15334 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15335 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15338 No nnmail equivalent.
15340 @item nnimap-split-rule
15341 @cindex Splitting, rules
15342 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15344 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15347 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15348 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15349 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15350 Neither did I, we need examples.
15353 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15355 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15356 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15357 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15360 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15361 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15362 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15364 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15365 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15369 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15372 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15373 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15375 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15376 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15377 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15378 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15380 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15381 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15382 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15383 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15384 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15385 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15387 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15388 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15389 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15391 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15392 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15393 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15395 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15397 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15398 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15399 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15402 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15403 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15404 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15405 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15406 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15407 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15410 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15411 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15412 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15413 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15414 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15415 group/function elements.
15417 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15419 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15421 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15423 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15424 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15426 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15427 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15428 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15431 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15432 @cindex splitting, fancy
15433 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15434 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15436 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15437 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15438 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15440 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15441 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15442 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15443 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15448 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15449 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15452 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15456 @node Expiring in IMAP
15457 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15458 @cindex expiring imap mail
15460 Even though @sc{nnimap} is not a proper @sc{nnmail} derived back end,
15461 it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15462 Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do not clone
15463 the @sc{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating @var{nnimap-expiry-wait})
15464 but reuse the @sc{nnmail} variables. What follows below are the
15465 variables used by the @sc{nnimap} expiry process.
15467 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15468 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15469 @sc{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15470 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15471 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15472 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15473 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15474 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15478 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15479 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15481 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15482 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15484 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15486 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15487 @sc{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15488 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15489 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15493 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15494 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15495 @cindex editing imap acls
15496 @cindex Access Control Lists
15497 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15499 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15501 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15502 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15503 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15506 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15507 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15508 editing window with detailed instructions.
15510 Some possible uses:
15514 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15515 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15516 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15518 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15519 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15520 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15524 @node Expunging mailboxes
15525 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15529 @cindex Manual expunging
15531 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15533 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15534 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15535 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15537 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15540 @node A note on namespaces
15541 @subsection A note on namespaces
15542 @cindex IMAP namespace
15545 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15546 following text in the RFC:
15549 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15551 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15552 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15553 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15554 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15556 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15557 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15558 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15559 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15560 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15561 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15564 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15565 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15566 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15568 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15569 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15570 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15571 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15572 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15573 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15574 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15575 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15577 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15578 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15579 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15581 @node Other Sources
15582 @section Other Sources
15584 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15585 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15589 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15590 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15591 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15592 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15593 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15597 @node Directory Groups
15598 @subsection Directory Groups
15600 @cindex directory groups
15602 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15603 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15606 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15607 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15608 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15609 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15611 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15612 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15613 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15614 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15615 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15617 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15619 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15620 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15621 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15622 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15625 @node Anything Groups
15626 @subsection Anything Groups
15629 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15630 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15631 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15634 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15635 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15636 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15637 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15638 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15639 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15640 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15641 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15642 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15643 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15646 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15647 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15648 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15649 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15651 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15652 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15653 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15654 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15656 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15657 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15658 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15659 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15660 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15661 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15662 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15663 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15668 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15669 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15670 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15671 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15673 @item nneething-exclude-files
15674 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15675 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15676 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15678 @item nneething-include-files
15679 @vindex nneething-include-files
15680 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15681 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15683 @item nneething-map-file
15684 @vindex nneething-map-file
15685 Name of the map files.
15689 @node Document Groups
15690 @subsection Document Groups
15692 @cindex documentation group
15695 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15696 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15703 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15708 The standard Unix mbox file.
15710 @cindex MMDF mail box
15712 The MMDF mail box format.
15715 Several news articles appended into a file.
15718 @cindex rnews batch files
15719 The rnews batch transport format.
15720 @cindex forwarded messages
15723 Forwarded articles.
15726 Netscape mail boxes.
15729 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15731 @item standard-digest
15732 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15735 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15737 @item lanl-gov-announce
15738 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15740 @item rfc822-forward
15741 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15744 The Outlook mail box.
15747 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15750 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15753 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15756 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15762 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15765 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15771 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15772 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15773 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15776 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15777 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15778 group. And that's it.
15780 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15781 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15782 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15783 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15784 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15785 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15786 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15787 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15788 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15789 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15791 Virtual server variables:
15794 @item nndoc-article-type
15795 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15796 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15797 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15798 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15799 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15800 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15802 @item nndoc-post-type
15803 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15804 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15805 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15810 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15814 @node Document Server Internals
15815 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15817 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15818 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15819 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15820 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15822 First, here's an example document type definition:
15826 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15827 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15830 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15831 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15832 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15833 types can be defined with very few settings:
15836 @item first-article
15837 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15838 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15841 @item article-begin
15842 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15843 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15845 @item head-begin-function
15846 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15849 @item nndoc-head-begin
15850 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15853 @item nndoc-head-end
15854 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15855 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15857 @item body-begin-function
15858 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15862 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15865 @item body-end-function
15866 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15870 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15873 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15874 regexp will be totally ignored.
15878 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15879 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15880 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15881 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15882 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15885 @item prepare-body-function
15886 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15887 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15888 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15890 @item article-transform-function
15891 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15892 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15893 body of the article.
15895 @item generate-head-function
15896 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15897 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15898 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15899 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15903 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15908 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15909 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15910 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15911 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15912 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15913 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15914 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15915 (subtype digest guess))
15918 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15919 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15920 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15921 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15922 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15924 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15925 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15926 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15927 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15928 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
15929 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15930 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15931 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15932 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15933 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15941 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15942 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15943 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15945 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15946 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15947 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15950 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15951 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15952 that interested in doing things properly.
15954 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15955 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15958 First some terminology:
15963 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15964 get news and/or mail from.
15967 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15968 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15971 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15975 @item message packets
15976 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15977 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15978 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15980 @item response packets
15981 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15982 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15983 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15993 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15994 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15995 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15996 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15999 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16002 You put the packet in your home directory.
16005 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16006 the native or secondary server.
16009 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16010 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16013 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16017 You transfer this packet to the server.
16020 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16023 You then repeat until you die.
16027 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16028 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16031 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16032 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16033 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16037 @node SOUP Commands
16038 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16040 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16044 @kindex G s b (Group)
16045 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16046 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16047 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16048 process/prefix convention.
16051 @kindex G s w (Group)
16052 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16053 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16056 @kindex G s s (Group)
16057 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16058 Send all replies from the replies packet
16059 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16062 @kindex G s p (Group)
16063 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16064 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16067 @kindex G s r (Group)
16068 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16069 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16072 @kindex O s (Summary)
16073 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16074 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16075 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16076 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16081 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16086 @item gnus-soup-directory
16087 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16088 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16089 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16091 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16092 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16093 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16094 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16096 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16097 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16098 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16099 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16101 @item gnus-soup-packer
16102 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16103 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16104 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16106 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16107 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16108 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16109 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16111 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16112 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16113 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16115 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16116 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16117 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16118 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16124 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16127 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16128 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16129 you can read them at leisure.
16131 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16135 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16136 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16137 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16138 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16140 @item nnsoup-directory
16141 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16142 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16143 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16145 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16146 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16147 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16148 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16150 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16151 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16152 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16153 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16154 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16156 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16157 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16158 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16159 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16161 @item nnsoup-active-file
16162 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16163 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16164 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16165 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16166 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16168 @item nnsoup-packer
16169 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16170 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16171 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16173 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16174 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16175 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16176 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16178 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16179 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16180 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16183 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16184 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16185 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16188 @item nnsoup-always-save
16189 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16190 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16196 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16198 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16199 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16200 more for that to happen.
16202 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16203 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16204 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16207 In specific, this is what it does:
16210 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16211 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16214 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16215 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16216 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16219 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16220 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16221 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16224 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16225 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16226 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16228 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16234 @item nngateway-address
16235 @vindex nngateway-address
16236 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16238 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16239 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16240 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16241 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16242 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16243 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16244 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16247 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16248 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16249 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16252 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16255 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16258 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16261 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16263 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16266 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16267 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16268 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16270 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16272 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16273 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16274 @code{nngateway-address}.
16279 (setq gnus-post-method
16281 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16282 (nngateway-header-transformation
16283 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16291 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16294 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16299 @node Combined Groups
16300 @section Combined Groups
16302 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16306 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16307 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16311 @node Virtual Groups
16312 @subsection Virtual Groups
16314 @cindex virtual groups
16315 @cindex merging groups
16317 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16320 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16321 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16322 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16324 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16325 regexp to match component groups.
16327 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16328 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16329 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16330 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16331 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16332 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16333 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16334 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16336 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16337 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16340 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16343 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16344 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16346 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16347 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16348 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16349 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16352 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16355 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16356 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16357 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16359 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16360 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16361 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16362 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16363 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16365 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16366 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16367 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16369 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16370 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16371 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16372 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16373 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16374 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16375 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16376 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16377 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16378 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16379 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16381 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16382 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16383 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16384 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16385 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16386 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16387 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16389 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16390 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16392 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16393 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16397 @node Kibozed Groups
16398 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16402 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16403 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16404 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16405 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16407 @kindex G k (Group)
16408 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16411 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16412 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16413 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16414 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16416 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16417 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16418 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16420 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16421 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16422 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16423 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16424 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16425 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16426 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16427 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16429 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16430 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16431 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16432 Stranger things have happened.
16434 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16435 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16437 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16438 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16439 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16440 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16441 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16442 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16444 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16445 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16448 @node Gnus Unplugged
16449 @section Gnus Unplugged
16454 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16456 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16457 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16458 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16459 read news. Believe it or not.
16461 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16462 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16463 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16464 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16465 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16467 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16468 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16469 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16470 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16471 reading news on a machine.
16473 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16474 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16476 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16479 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16480 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16481 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16482 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16483 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16484 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16485 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16486 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16487 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16488 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16489 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16494 @subsection Agent Basics
16496 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16498 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16499 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16500 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16501 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16503 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16504 connected to the net continuously.
16506 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16507 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16509 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16514 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16515 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16516 already fetched while in this mode.
16519 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16520 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16521 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16522 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16523 Source Specifiers}).
16526 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16527 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16528 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16529 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16530 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16533 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16534 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16535 then you read the news offline.
16538 And then you go to step 2.
16541 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16547 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16548 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16549 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16550 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16551 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16552 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16553 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16554 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16557 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16564 @node Agent Categories
16565 @subsection Agent Categories
16567 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16568 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16569 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16570 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16571 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16572 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16573 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16575 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16576 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16577 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16578 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16579 managing categories.
16582 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16583 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16584 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16588 @node Category Syntax
16589 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16591 A category consists of two things.
16595 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16596 are eligible for downloading; and
16599 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16600 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16601 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16604 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16605 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16606 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16607 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16609 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16610 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16611 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16613 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16614 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16615 operators sprinkled in between.
16617 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16619 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16620 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16626 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16627 short (for some value of ``short'').
16629 Here's a more complex predicate:
16638 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16639 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16642 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16643 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16644 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16646 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16647 you want to do, you can write your own.
16651 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16652 lines; default 100.
16655 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16656 lines; default 200.
16659 True iff the article has a download score less than
16660 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16663 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16664 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16667 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16668 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16669 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16678 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16679 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16680 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16683 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16684 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16685 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16686 something along the lines of the following:
16689 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16690 "Say whether an article is old."
16691 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16692 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16695 with the predicate then defined as:
16698 (not my-article-old-p)
16701 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16702 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16706 (require 'gnus-agent)
16707 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16708 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16709 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16712 and simply specify your predicate as:
16718 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16719 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16720 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16721 just don't give a damn.
16723 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16724 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16725 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16726 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16727 parameters like so:
16730 (agent-predicate . short)
16733 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16734 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16735 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16737 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16740 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16743 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16744 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16745 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16748 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16749 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16750 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16751 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16752 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16753 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16755 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16756 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16757 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16758 if it's to be specific to that group.
16760 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16767 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16768 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16774 Category specification
16778 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16784 Group Parameter specification
16787 (agent-score ("from"
16788 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16793 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16799 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16806 Category specification
16809 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16815 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16819 Group Parameter specification
16822 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16825 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16830 Use @code{normal} score files
16832 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16833 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16834 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16835 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16837 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16838 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16839 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16840 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16844 Category Specification
16851 Group Parameter specification
16854 (agent-score . file)
16859 @node Category Buffer
16860 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16862 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16863 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16864 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16866 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16870 @kindex q (Category)
16871 @findex gnus-category-exit
16872 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16875 @kindex k (Category)
16876 @findex gnus-category-kill
16877 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16880 @kindex c (Category)
16881 @findex gnus-category-copy
16882 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16885 @kindex a (Category)
16886 @findex gnus-category-add
16887 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16890 @kindex p (Category)
16891 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16892 Edit the predicate of the current category
16893 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16896 @kindex g (Category)
16897 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16898 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16899 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16902 @kindex s (Category)
16903 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16904 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16905 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16908 @kindex l (Category)
16909 @findex gnus-category-list
16910 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16914 @node Category Variables
16915 @subsubsection Category Variables
16918 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16919 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16920 Hook run in category buffers.
16922 @item gnus-category-line-format
16923 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16924 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16925 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16929 The name of the category.
16932 The number of groups in the category.
16935 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16936 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16937 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16939 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16940 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16941 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16943 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16944 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16945 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16947 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16948 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16949 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16952 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16953 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16954 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16960 @node Agent Commands
16961 @subsection Agent Commands
16963 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16964 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16965 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16969 * Group Agent Commands::
16970 * Summary Agent Commands::
16971 * Server Agent Commands::
16974 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16975 following incantation:
16977 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16979 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16984 @node Group Agent Commands
16985 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16989 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16990 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16991 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16992 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16995 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16996 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16997 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17000 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17001 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17002 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17003 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17006 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17007 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17008 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17009 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17012 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17013 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17014 Add the current group to an Agent category
17015 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17016 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17019 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17020 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17021 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17022 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17023 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17026 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17027 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17028 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17034 @node Summary Agent Commands
17035 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17039 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17040 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17041 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17044 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17045 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17046 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17047 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17050 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17051 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17052 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
17055 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17056 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17057 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
17060 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17061 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17062 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17063 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17068 @node Server Agent Commands
17069 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17073 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17074 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17075 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17076 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17079 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17080 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17081 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17082 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17087 @node Agent as Cache
17088 @subsection Agent as Cache
17090 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17091 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17092 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17093 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17094 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17095 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17096 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17097 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17098 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17100 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17101 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17104 @subsection Agent Expiry
17106 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17107 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17108 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17109 @cindex Agent expiry
17110 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17113 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17114 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17115 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17116 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17117 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17118 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17120 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17121 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17122 expiry in different groups.
17125 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17131 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17132 method---it must always match all groups.
17134 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17135 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17136 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17137 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17138 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17140 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17141 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17142 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17143 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17145 @node Agent and IMAP
17146 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17148 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17149 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17150 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17151 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17153 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17154 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17155 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17156 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17158 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17159 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17160 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17161 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17163 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17164 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17165 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17166 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17167 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17168 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17170 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17171 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17172 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17173 in the group buffer.
17175 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17176 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17181 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17184 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17188 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17189 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17190 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17191 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17192 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17193 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17194 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17195 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17198 @node Outgoing Messages
17199 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17201 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17202 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17203 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17205 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17206 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17207 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17208 messages in the draft group.
17212 @node Agent Variables
17213 @subsection Agent Variables
17216 @item gnus-agent-directory
17217 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17218 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17219 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17221 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17222 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17223 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17224 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17225 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17228 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17229 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17230 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17232 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17233 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17234 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17236 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17237 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17238 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17240 @item gnus-agent-cache
17241 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17242 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17243 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17244 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17246 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17247 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17248 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17249 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17250 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17251 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17252 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17255 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17256 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17257 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17258 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17259 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17260 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17261 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17262 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17263 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17268 @node Example Setup
17269 @subsection Example Setup
17271 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17272 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17273 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17276 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17277 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17278 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17280 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17281 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17282 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17284 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17285 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17287 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17288 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17289 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17292 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17293 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17296 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17297 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17298 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17299 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17300 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17303 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17304 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17305 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17306 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17307 back all the killed groups.)
17309 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17310 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17311 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17314 @node Batching Agents
17315 @subsection Batching Agents
17317 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17318 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17319 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17323 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17327 @node Agent Caveats
17328 @subsection Agent Caveats
17330 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17331 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17335 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17337 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17338 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17339 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17341 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17343 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17347 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17348 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17349 locally stored articles.
17356 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17357 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17358 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17361 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17362 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17363 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17364 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17365 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17367 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17368 before generating the summary buffer.
17370 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17371 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17372 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17374 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17375 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17376 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17377 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17380 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17381 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17382 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17383 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17384 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17385 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17386 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17387 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17388 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17389 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17390 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17391 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17392 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17393 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17394 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17395 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17396 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17400 @node Summary Score Commands
17401 @section Summary Score Commands
17402 @cindex score commands
17404 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17405 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17406 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17407 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17408 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17410 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17411 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17412 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17413 score file the current one.
17415 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17420 @kindex V s (Summary)
17421 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17422 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17425 @kindex V S (Summary)
17426 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17427 Display the score of the current article
17428 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17431 @kindex V t (Summary)
17432 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17433 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17434 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17437 @kindex V w (Summary)
17438 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17439 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17442 @kindex V R (Summary)
17443 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17444 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17445 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17446 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17447 effect you're having.
17450 @kindex V c (Summary)
17451 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17452 Make a different score file the current
17453 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17456 @kindex V e (Summary)
17457 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17458 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17459 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17463 @kindex V f (Summary)
17464 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17465 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17466 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17469 @kindex V F (Summary)
17470 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17471 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17472 after editing score files.
17475 @kindex V C (Summary)
17476 @findex gnus-score-customize
17477 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17478 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17482 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17487 @kindex V m (Summary)
17488 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17489 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17490 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17493 @kindex V x (Summary)
17494 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17495 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17496 expunge all articles below this score
17497 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17500 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17501 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17504 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17505 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17509 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17510 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17512 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17513 keys are available:
17517 Score on the author name.
17520 Score on the subject line.
17523 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17526 Score on the @code{References} line.
17532 Score on the number of lines.
17535 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17538 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17539 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17542 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17543 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17544 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17553 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17559 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17560 what headers you are scoring on.
17572 Substring matching.
17575 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17604 Greater than number.
17609 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17610 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17611 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17616 Temporary score entry.
17619 Permanent score entry.
17622 Immediately scoring.
17626 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17627 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17628 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17632 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17633 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17634 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17635 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17637 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17638 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17639 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17640 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17641 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17643 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17644 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17645 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17646 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17647 current score file.
17649 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17650 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17651 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17654 @node Group Score Commands
17655 @section Group Score Commands
17656 @cindex group score commands
17658 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17663 @kindex W f (Group)
17664 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17665 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17666 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17667 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17671 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17673 @findex gnus-batch-score
17674 @cindex batch scoring
17676 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17680 @node Score Variables
17681 @section Score Variables
17682 @cindex score variables
17686 @item gnus-use-scoring
17687 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17688 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17689 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17691 @item gnus-kill-killed
17692 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17693 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17694 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17695 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17696 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17697 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17698 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17700 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17701 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17702 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17703 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17704 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17706 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17707 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17708 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17709 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17711 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17712 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17713 @cindex score cache
17714 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17715 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17716 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17717 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17718 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17719 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17722 @item gnus-save-score
17723 @vindex gnus-save-score
17724 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17725 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17726 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17728 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17729 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17730 across group visits.
17732 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17733 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17734 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17735 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17736 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17737 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17738 manually entered data.
17740 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17741 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17742 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17744 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17745 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17746 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17747 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17748 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17749 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17751 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17752 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17753 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17754 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17756 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17757 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17758 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17759 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17761 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17762 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17763 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17764 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17766 Predefined functions available are:
17769 @item gnus-score-find-single
17770 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17771 Only apply the group's own score file.
17773 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17774 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17775 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17776 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17777 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17778 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17779 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17780 then a regexp match is done.
17782 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17783 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17785 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17786 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17787 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17788 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17790 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17791 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17792 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17793 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17794 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17798 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17799 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17800 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17801 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17802 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17803 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17804 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17807 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17808 overall score file, you could use the value
17810 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17811 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17814 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17815 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17816 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17817 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17818 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17820 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17821 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17822 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17823 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17824 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17825 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17826 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17827 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17829 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17830 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17831 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17833 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17834 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17835 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17836 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17837 threading---according to the current value of
17838 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17839 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17840 simplified in this manner.
17845 @node Score File Format
17846 @section Score File Format
17847 @cindex score file format
17849 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17850 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17851 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17853 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17857 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17859 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17861 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17863 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17868 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17872 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17873 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17874 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17875 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17879 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17880 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17882 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17883 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17884 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17886 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17891 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17892 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17893 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17894 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17895 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17896 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17897 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17898 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17899 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17900 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17901 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17902 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17903 to articles that matches these score entries.
17905 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17906 score entry has one to four elements.
17910 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17911 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17915 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17916 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17917 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17918 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17919 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17920 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17923 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17924 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17925 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17926 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17927 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17930 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17931 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17932 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17933 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17936 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17937 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17938 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17939 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17940 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17941 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17942 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17943 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17944 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17945 instead, if you feel like.
17948 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17949 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17950 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17951 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17952 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17953 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17956 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17960 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17961 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17963 These predicates are true if
17966 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17969 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17970 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17977 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17978 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17979 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17980 it's not. I think.)
17982 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17983 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17984 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17985 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17988 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17989 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17990 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17991 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17992 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17993 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17994 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17998 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17999 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18000 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18001 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18002 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18003 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18004 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18005 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18008 @item Head, Body, All
18009 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18013 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18014 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18015 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18016 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18017 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18018 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18019 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18023 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18024 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18025 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18026 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18027 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18028 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18029 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18030 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18031 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18032 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18033 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18037 @cindex Score File Atoms
18039 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18040 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18043 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18044 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18046 @item mark-and-expunge
18047 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18048 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18051 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18052 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18053 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18054 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18055 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18058 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18059 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18062 @item exclude-files
18063 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18064 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18068 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18069 ignored when handling global score files.
18072 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18073 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18074 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18075 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18078 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18079 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18080 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18081 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18083 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18087 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18090 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18091 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18092 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18093 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18094 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18096 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18097 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18098 scoring rules exist.
18101 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18102 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18103 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18104 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18105 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18106 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18107 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18108 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18109 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18110 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18111 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18115 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18116 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18117 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18118 file for a number of groups.
18121 @cindex local variables
18122 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18123 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18124 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18125 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18126 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18130 @node Score File Editing
18131 @section Score File Editing
18133 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18134 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18135 with a mode for that.
18137 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18138 additional commands:
18143 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18144 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18145 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18146 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18149 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18150 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18151 Insert the current date in numerical format
18152 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18153 you were wondering.
18156 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18157 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18158 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18159 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18160 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18165 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18167 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18168 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18170 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18171 e} to begin editing score files.
18174 @node Adaptive Scoring
18175 @section Adaptive Scoring
18176 @cindex adaptive scoring
18178 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18179 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18180 stupidity, to be precise.
18182 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18183 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18184 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18185 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18186 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18187 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18188 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18189 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18190 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18192 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18193 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18194 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18195 might look something like this:
18198 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18199 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18200 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18201 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18202 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18203 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18204 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18205 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18206 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18207 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18208 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18209 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18212 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18213 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18214 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18215 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18216 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18217 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18220 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18221 will be applied to each article.
18223 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18224 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18225 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18226 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18228 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18229 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18230 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18231 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18233 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18234 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18235 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18236 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18238 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18239 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18240 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18241 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18242 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18243 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18245 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18246 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18247 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18248 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18249 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18250 aspirins afterwards.)
18252 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18253 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18254 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18256 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18257 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18258 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18260 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18261 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18262 let you use different rules in different groups.
18264 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18265 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18266 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18269 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18270 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18271 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18272 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18273 the length of the match is less than
18274 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18275 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18278 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18279 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18280 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18281 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18282 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18285 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18286 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18287 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18288 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18289 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18292 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18293 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18294 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18295 score with 30 points.
18297 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18298 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18299 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18300 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18301 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18303 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18304 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18305 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18306 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18307 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18309 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18310 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18311 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18312 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18314 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18315 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18316 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18317 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18319 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18320 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18321 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18322 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18323 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18325 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18326 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18327 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18329 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18330 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18331 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18332 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18335 @node Home Score File
18336 @section Home Score File
18338 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18339 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18340 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18341 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18343 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18344 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18345 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18347 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18348 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18353 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18357 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18358 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18362 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18366 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18367 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18370 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18371 the home score file.
18374 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18377 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18382 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18385 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18386 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18389 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18390 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18392 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18394 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18395 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18398 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18399 Other functions include
18402 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18403 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18404 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18405 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18409 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18410 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18411 their own home score files:
18414 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18415 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18416 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18417 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18418 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18421 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18422 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18423 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18424 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18425 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18427 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18428 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18429 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18430 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18431 precedence over this variable.
18434 @node Followups To Yourself
18435 @section Followups To Yourself
18437 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18438 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18439 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18440 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18441 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18442 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18446 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18447 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18448 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18451 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18452 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18453 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18457 @vindex message-sent-hook
18458 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18459 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18461 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18465 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18466 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18470 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18471 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18474 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18475 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18480 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18484 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18485 is system-dependent.
18488 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18489 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18490 @cindex scoring on other headers
18492 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18493 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18494 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18495 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18496 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18498 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18499 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18500 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18501 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18502 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18504 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18507 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18508 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18511 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18512 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18513 time if you have much mail.
18515 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18516 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18522 @section Scoring Tips
18523 @cindex scoring tips
18529 @cindex scoring crossposts
18530 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18531 the @code{Xref} header.
18533 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18536 @item Multiple crossposts
18537 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18538 more than, say, 3 groups:
18541 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18545 @item Matching on the body
18546 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18547 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18548 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18549 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18550 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18551 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18552 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18555 @item Marking as read
18556 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18557 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18558 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18562 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18564 @item Negated character classes
18565 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18566 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18567 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18571 @node Reverse Scoring
18572 @section Reverse Scoring
18573 @cindex reverse scoring
18575 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18576 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18577 like this in your score file:
18581 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18586 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18587 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18590 @node Global Score Files
18591 @section Global Score Files
18592 @cindex global score files
18594 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18595 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18596 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18598 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18599 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18600 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18602 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18603 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18604 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18605 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18606 files are applicable to which group.
18608 To use the score file
18609 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18610 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18614 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18615 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18616 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18619 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18621 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18622 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18623 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18624 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18626 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18627 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18629 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18630 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18631 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18632 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18633 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18634 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18636 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18642 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18644 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18646 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18648 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18649 lowered out of existence.
18651 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18652 articles completely.
18655 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18656 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18657 old articles for a long time.
18660 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18661 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18662 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18663 holding our breath yet?
18667 @section Kill Files
18670 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18671 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18672 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18674 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18675 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18676 files into score files.
18678 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18679 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18680 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18681 that isn't a very good idea.
18683 Normal kill files look like this:
18686 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18687 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18691 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18692 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18694 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18695 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18698 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18703 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18704 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18705 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18708 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18709 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18710 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18713 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18718 @kindex M-k (Group)
18719 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18720 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18723 @kindex M-K (Group)
18724 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18725 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18728 Kill file variables:
18731 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18732 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18733 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18734 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18735 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18736 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18737 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18739 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18740 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18741 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18742 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18745 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18746 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18747 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18748 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18749 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18750 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18751 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18752 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18753 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18755 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18756 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18757 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18762 @node Converting Kill Files
18763 @section Converting Kill Files
18765 @cindex converting kill files
18767 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18768 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18769 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18772 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18773 You can fetch it from
18774 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18776 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18777 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18778 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18786 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18787 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18788 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18789 news articles generated every day.
18791 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18792 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18793 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18794 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18795 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18796 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18797 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18798 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18801 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18802 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18805 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18806 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18807 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18808 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18812 @node Using GroupLens
18813 @subsection Using GroupLens
18815 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18817 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18818 better bit in town at the moment.
18820 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18824 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18825 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18826 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18827 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18829 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18830 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18831 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18832 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18834 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18835 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18836 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18840 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18841 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18842 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18843 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18844 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18845 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18848 @node Rating Articles
18849 @subsection Rating Articles
18851 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18852 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18853 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18854 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18857 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18862 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18863 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18864 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18867 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18868 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18869 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18870 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18871 threads in rec.humor.
18875 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18876 the score of the article you're reading.
18881 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18882 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18883 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18886 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18887 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18888 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18892 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18893 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18896 @node Displaying Predictions
18897 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18899 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18900 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18901 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18902 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18903 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18905 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18906 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18907 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18908 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18909 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18910 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18911 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18912 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18913 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18914 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18915 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18916 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18917 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18919 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18920 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18921 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18922 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18924 The following are valid values for that variable.
18927 @item prediction-spot
18928 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18931 @item confidence-interval
18932 A numeric confidence interval.
18934 @item prediction-bar
18935 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18937 @item confidence-bar
18938 Numerical confidence.
18940 @item confidence-spot
18941 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18943 @item prediction-num
18944 Plain-old numeric value.
18946 @item confidence-plus-minus
18947 Prediction +/- confidence.
18952 @node GroupLens Variables
18953 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18957 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18958 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18959 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18960 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18963 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18964 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18967 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18968 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18970 @item grouplens-score-offset
18971 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18972 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18975 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18976 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18977 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18982 @node Advanced Scoring
18983 @section Advanced Scoring
18985 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18986 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18987 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18988 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18989 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18991 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18995 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18996 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18997 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19001 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19002 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19004 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19005 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19006 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19007 non-@code{nil} value.
19009 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19010 operator, and various match operators.
19017 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19018 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19019 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19024 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19025 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19026 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19031 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19032 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19036 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19037 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19038 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19039 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19040 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19041 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19042 the ancestry you want to go.
19044 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19045 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19046 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19047 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19048 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19051 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19052 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19054 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19055 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19058 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19059 when he's talking about Gnus:
19063 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19064 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19070 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19074 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19081 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19082 really don't want to read what he's written:
19086 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19087 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19091 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19092 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19093 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19100 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19101 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19102 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19103 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19107 The possibilities are endless.
19110 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19111 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19113 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19114 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19115 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19116 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19117 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19118 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19119 @samp{subject}) first.
19121 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19122 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19133 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19134 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19140 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19147 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19148 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19153 @section Score Decays
19154 @cindex score decays
19157 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19158 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19159 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19160 use them in any sensible way.
19162 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19163 @findex gnus-decay-score
19164 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19165 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19166 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19167 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19168 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19169 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19170 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19171 definition of that function:
19174 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19176 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19177 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19180 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19182 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19184 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19187 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19188 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19189 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19190 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19194 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19197 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19200 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19204 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19205 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19206 the new score, which should be an integer.
19208 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19209 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19214 @include message.texi
19215 @chapter Emacs MIME
19216 @include emacs-mime.texi
19218 @include sieve.texi
19220 @c @include pgg.texi
19228 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19229 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19230 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19231 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19232 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19233 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19234 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19235 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19236 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19237 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19238 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19239 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19240 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19241 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19242 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19243 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19244 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19245 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19246 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19250 @node Process/Prefix
19251 @section Process/Prefix
19252 @cindex process/prefix convention
19254 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19255 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19257 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19258 command to be performed on.
19262 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19263 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19264 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19265 with the current one.
19267 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19268 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19269 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19271 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19272 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19275 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19276 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19278 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19281 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19282 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19283 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19284 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19286 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19287 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19288 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19289 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19290 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19291 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19292 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19293 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19295 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19296 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19297 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19298 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19299 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19303 @section Interactive
19304 @cindex interaction
19308 @item gnus-novice-user
19309 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19310 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19311 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19312 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19313 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19316 @item gnus-expert-user
19317 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19318 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19319 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19320 matter how strange.
19322 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19323 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19324 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19325 is @code{t} by default.
19327 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19328 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19329 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19334 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19335 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19336 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19338 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19339 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19340 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19341 rule of 900 to the current article.
19343 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19344 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19345 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19346 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19347 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19348 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19349 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19351 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19352 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19353 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19354 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19355 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19356 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19357 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19358 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19359 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19361 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19362 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19363 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19365 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19369 @node Formatting Variables
19370 @section Formatting Variables
19371 @cindex formatting variables
19373 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19374 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19375 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19376 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19377 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19380 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19381 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19382 lots of percentages everywhere.
19385 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19386 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19387 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19388 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19389 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19390 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19391 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19392 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19395 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19396 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19397 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19398 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19399 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19400 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19401 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19402 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19404 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19405 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19407 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19408 @findex gnus-update-format
19409 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19410 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19411 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19412 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19416 @node Formatting Basics
19417 @subsection Formatting Basics
19419 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19420 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19421 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19423 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19424 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19425 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19426 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19427 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19430 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19431 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19432 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19433 less than 4 characters wide.
19435 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19436 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19439 @node Mode Line Formatting
19440 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19442 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19443 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19444 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19445 with the following two differences:
19450 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19453 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19454 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19455 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19456 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19457 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19458 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19459 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19464 @node Advanced Formatting
19465 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19467 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19468 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19469 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19470 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19472 These are the valid modifiers:
19477 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19481 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19486 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19489 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19494 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19497 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19500 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19503 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19509 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19514 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19515 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19516 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19517 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19518 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19519 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19520 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19522 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19523 last operation, padding.
19525 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19526 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19527 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19528 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19529 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19530 the look of your lines.
19531 @xref{Compilation}.
19534 @node User-Defined Specs
19535 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19537 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19538 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19539 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19540 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19541 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19542 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19543 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19544 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19545 should protect against that.
19547 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19548 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19550 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19551 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19552 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19553 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19557 @node Formatting Fonts
19558 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19560 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19561 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19562 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19563 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19566 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19567 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19568 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19569 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19570 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19571 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19573 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19574 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19575 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19576 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19577 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19578 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19579 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19580 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19581 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19582 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19584 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19587 ;; Create three face types.
19588 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19589 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19591 ;; We want the article count to be in
19592 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19593 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19594 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19596 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19597 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19599 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19600 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19601 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19604 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19605 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19607 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19608 mode-line variables.
19610 @node Positioning Point
19611 @subsection Positioning Point
19613 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19614 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19615 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19617 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19619 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19620 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19621 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19623 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19624 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19625 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19630 @subsection Tabulation
19632 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19633 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19634 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19635 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19637 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19638 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19640 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19641 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19642 This is the soft tabulator.
19644 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19645 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19646 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19649 @node Wide Characters
19650 @subsection Wide Characters
19652 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19653 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19654 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19656 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19657 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19658 these countries, that's not true.
19660 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19661 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19662 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19663 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19667 @node Window Layout
19668 @section Window Layout
19669 @cindex window layout
19671 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19673 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19674 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19675 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19676 @code{t} by default.
19678 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19679 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19681 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19682 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19683 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19686 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19687 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19688 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19692 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19693 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19694 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19695 possible names is listed below.
19697 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19698 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19701 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19705 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19706 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19707 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19708 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19709 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19710 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19711 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19712 size spec per split.
19714 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19715 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19716 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19717 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19718 present) gets focus.
19720 Here's a more complicated example:
19723 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19724 (summary 0.25 point)
19725 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19729 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19730 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19731 occupy, not a percentage.
19733 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19734 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19735 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19736 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19737 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19740 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19743 (article (horizontal 1.0
19748 (summary 0.25 point)
19753 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19754 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19756 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19757 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19758 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19759 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19760 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19762 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19763 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19764 lines from the splits.
19766 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19770 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19771 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19772 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19773 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19774 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19775 size = number | frame-params
19776 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19779 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19780 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19781 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19782 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19784 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19785 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19786 @cindex window height
19787 @cindex window width
19788 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19789 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19790 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19791 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19792 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19793 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19795 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19796 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19797 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19798 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19800 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19801 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19802 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19803 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19804 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19805 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19806 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19807 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19808 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19809 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19810 configuration list.
19813 (gnus-configure-frame
19817 (article 0.3 point))
19825 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19826 @code{frame} split:
19829 (gnus-configure-frame
19832 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19834 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19835 (user-position . t)
19836 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19841 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19842 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19843 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19844 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19845 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19846 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19847 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19848 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19850 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19851 be found in its default value.
19853 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19854 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19855 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19859 (message (horizontal 1.0
19860 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19862 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19867 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19868 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19869 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19874 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19875 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19876 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19877 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19878 (name . "Message"))
19879 (message 1.0 point))))
19882 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19883 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19884 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19885 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19886 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19889 (gnus-add-configuration
19890 '(article (vertical 1.0
19892 (summary .25 point)
19896 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19897 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19898 Gnus has been loaded.
19900 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19901 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19902 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19903 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19904 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19906 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19907 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19908 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19911 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19915 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19916 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19931 (gnus-add-configuration
19934 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19936 (summary 0.16 point)
19939 (gnus-add-configuration
19942 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19943 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19949 @node Faces and Fonts
19950 @section Faces and Fonts
19955 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19956 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19957 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19962 @section Compilation
19963 @cindex compilation
19964 @cindex byte-compilation
19966 @findex gnus-compile
19968 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19969 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19970 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
19971 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
19972 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
19973 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19974 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19975 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19978 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19979 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19980 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19981 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
19982 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19985 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
19986 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19987 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
19988 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
19989 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
19994 @section Mode Lines
19997 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19998 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19999 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20000 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20001 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20002 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20003 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20006 @cindex display-time
20008 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20009 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20010 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20011 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20012 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20013 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20014 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20015 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20018 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20020 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20021 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20023 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20024 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20025 (length display-time-string)))))
20028 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20029 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20030 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20031 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20032 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20035 @node Highlighting and Menus
20036 @section Highlighting and Menus
20038 @cindex highlighting
20041 @vindex gnus-visual
20042 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20043 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20044 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20047 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20048 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20051 @item group-highlight
20052 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20053 @item summary-highlight
20054 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20055 @item article-highlight
20056 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20058 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20060 Create menus in the group buffer.
20062 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20064 Create menus in the article buffer.
20066 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20068 Create menus in the server buffer.
20070 Create menus in the score buffers.
20072 Create menus in all buffers.
20075 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20076 buffers, you could say something like:
20079 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20082 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20085 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20088 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20089 in all Gnus buffers.
20091 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20094 @item gnus-mouse-face
20095 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20096 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20097 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20101 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20105 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20106 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20107 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20109 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20110 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20111 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20113 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20114 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20115 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20117 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20118 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20119 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20121 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20122 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20123 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20125 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20126 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20127 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20138 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20139 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20140 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20141 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20142 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20146 @vindex gnus-carpal
20147 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20148 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20149 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20154 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20155 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20156 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20158 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20159 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20160 Face used on buttons.
20162 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20163 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20164 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20166 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20167 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20168 Buttons in the group buffer.
20170 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20171 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20172 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20174 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20175 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20176 Buttons in the server buffer.
20178 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20179 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20180 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20183 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20184 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20185 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20193 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20194 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20195 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20196 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20197 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20199 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20200 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20201 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20203 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20204 been idle for thirty minutes:
20207 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20210 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20214 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20217 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20218 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20219 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20221 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20222 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20223 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20224 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20226 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20227 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20228 @var{idle} minutes.
20230 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20231 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20234 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20235 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20236 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20238 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20239 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20240 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20241 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20243 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20244 your @file{.gnus} file:
20246 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20248 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20251 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20252 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20253 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20254 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20255 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20256 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20257 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20258 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20259 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20260 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20261 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20263 @findex gnus-demon-init
20264 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20265 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20266 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20267 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20268 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20270 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20271 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20272 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20281 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20282 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20284 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20285 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20286 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20287 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20290 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20291 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20292 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20293 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20295 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20296 this will make spam disappear.
20298 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20301 @item gnus-use-nocem
20302 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20303 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20306 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20307 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20308 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20309 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20310 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20312 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20313 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20314 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20315 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20316 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20317 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20319 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20320 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20322 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20323 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20324 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20325 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20326 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20327 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20328 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20329 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20330 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20331 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20333 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20334 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20337 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20340 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20341 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20344 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20347 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20350 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20351 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20353 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20354 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20355 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20356 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20358 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20359 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20362 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20364 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20372 This might be dangerous, though.
20374 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20375 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20376 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20377 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20379 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20380 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20381 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20382 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20383 might then see old spam.
20385 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20386 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20387 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20388 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20389 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20392 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20393 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20394 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20395 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20399 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20400 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20401 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20402 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20409 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20410 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20411 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20413 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20414 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20415 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20416 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20417 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20418 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20419 @code{undo} function.
20421 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20422 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20423 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20424 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20425 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20426 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20427 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20428 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20429 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20430 never be totally undoable.
20432 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20433 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20435 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20436 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20437 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20438 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20442 @node Predicate Specifiers
20443 @section Predicate Specifiers
20444 @cindex predicate specifiers
20446 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20447 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20448 to type all that much.
20450 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20455 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20456 gnus-article-unread-p)
20459 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20460 functions all take one parameter.
20462 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20463 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20464 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20465 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20470 @section Moderation
20473 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20474 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20475 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20478 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20482 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20485 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20487 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20492 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20493 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20494 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20497 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20498 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20501 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20502 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20506 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20509 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20510 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20514 @node Image Enhancements
20515 @section Image Enhancements
20517 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20518 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20521 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20522 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20523 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20524 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20525 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20538 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20539 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20540 over your shoulder as you read news.
20543 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20544 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20545 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20546 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20547 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20552 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20554 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20563 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20564 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20565 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20566 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20567 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20568 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20569 @code{GIF} formats.
20572 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20573 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20574 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20575 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20576 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20578 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20579 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20580 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20581 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20582 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20583 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20585 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20586 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20589 @node Picon Requirements
20590 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20592 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20593 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20594 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20595 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20597 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20598 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20599 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20600 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20601 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20602 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20605 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20607 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20608 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20611 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20612 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20615 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20616 containing the Picons databases.
20618 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20621 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20622 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20627 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20635 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20636 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20637 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20638 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20639 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20644 @item gnus-picons-database
20645 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20646 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20647 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20648 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20649 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20650 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20652 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20653 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20654 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20655 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20656 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20657 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20658 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20660 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20661 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20662 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20663 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20664 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20665 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20666 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20667 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20669 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20670 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20671 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20676 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20677 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20679 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20680 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20683 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20685 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20686 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20687 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20688 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20690 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20691 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20692 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20693 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20699 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20700 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20708 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20709 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20710 don't need to worry about.
20714 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20715 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20716 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20717 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20719 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20720 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20721 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20722 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20724 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20725 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20726 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20727 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20728 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20730 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20731 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20732 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20733 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20734 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20735 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20736 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20737 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20739 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20740 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20741 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20742 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20743 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20745 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20746 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20747 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20748 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20749 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20750 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20751 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20753 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20754 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20755 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20756 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20758 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20759 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20760 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20761 Defaults to @code{t}.
20763 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20764 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20765 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20766 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20768 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20769 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20770 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20772 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20773 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20774 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20775 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20777 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20778 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20780 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20781 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20782 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20783 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20784 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20785 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20786 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20787 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20798 @subsection Smileys
20803 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20808 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20809 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20811 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20812 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20815 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20818 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20819 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20820 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20821 text and maps that to file names.
20823 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20824 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20825 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20826 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20827 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20828 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20830 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20831 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20833 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20834 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20835 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20837 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20838 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20842 @item smiley-data-directory
20843 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20844 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20846 @item smiley-flesh-color
20847 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20848 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20850 @item smiley-features-color
20851 @vindex smiley-features-color
20852 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20854 @item smiley-tongue-color
20855 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20856 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20858 @item smiley-circle-color
20859 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20860 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20862 @item smiley-mouse-face
20863 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20864 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20873 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20874 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20875 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20879 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20880 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20881 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20882 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20890 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20891 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20892 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20893 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20895 The variable that controls this is the
20896 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20897 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20898 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20899 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20900 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20902 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20903 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20904 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20905 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20908 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20909 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20910 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20911 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20912 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20913 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20914 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20915 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20917 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20920 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20921 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20923 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20924 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20925 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20926 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20927 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20928 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20930 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20931 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20932 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20934 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20935 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20938 (setq message-required-news-headers
20939 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20940 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20943 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20946 (setq message-required-news-headers
20947 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20948 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20949 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20950 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20955 @subsection Toolbar
20965 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20966 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20967 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20968 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20969 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20971 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20972 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20973 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20975 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20976 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20977 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20979 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20980 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20981 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20987 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20990 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20991 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20992 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20993 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20994 unusual directory structure.
20996 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20997 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20998 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20999 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21001 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21002 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21003 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21004 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21005 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21006 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21008 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21009 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21010 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21024 @node Fuzzy Matching
21025 @section Fuzzy Matching
21026 @cindex fuzzy matching
21028 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21029 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21031 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21032 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21033 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21035 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21036 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21037 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21038 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21039 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21042 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21043 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21047 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21049 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21050 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21051 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21052 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21053 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21054 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21055 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21056 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21059 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21060 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21061 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21062 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21063 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21064 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21066 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21069 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21070 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21071 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21072 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21073 * Filtering Spam Using spam.el::
21074 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)::
21077 @node The problem of spam
21078 @subsection The problem of spam
21080 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21081 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21083 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21085 First, some background on spam.
21087 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21088 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21089 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21090 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21091 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21092 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21093 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21094 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21096 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21097 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21098 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21099 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21100 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21101 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21102 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21103 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21104 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21107 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21108 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21109 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21110 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21111 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21112 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21113 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21114 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21115 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21116 mail can be useful.
21118 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21119 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21120 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21121 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21122 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21123 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21124 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21125 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21126 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21128 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21129 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21130 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21131 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21132 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21133 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21134 because of the incident.
21136 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21137 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21138 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21139 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21140 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21141 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21142 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21143 to store the database of spam analyses.
21145 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21146 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21150 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21152 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21153 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21155 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21156 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21157 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21158 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21159 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21160 part of the mail address.)
21163 (setq message-default-news-headers
21164 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21167 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21168 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21173 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21174 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21175 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21181 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21182 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21183 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21184 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21186 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21187 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21188 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21189 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21190 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21191 your fancy split rule in this way:
21196 (to "larsi" "misc")
21200 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21201 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21202 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21203 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21204 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21206 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21207 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21208 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21209 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21210 cosmic balance somewhat.
21212 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21213 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21214 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21215 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21220 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21221 @cindex SpamAssassin
21222 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21225 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21226 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21227 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21228 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21229 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21230 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21231 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21233 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21234 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21235 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21236 Specifiers}) follows.
21240 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21243 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21246 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21247 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21248 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21251 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21255 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21258 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21259 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21263 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21264 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21265 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21266 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21269 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21271 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21273 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21274 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21276 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21278 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21279 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21283 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21284 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21285 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21288 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21289 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21291 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21292 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21293 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21297 @subsection Hashcash
21300 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21301 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21302 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21303 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21304 in smaller communities.
21306 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21307 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21308 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21309 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21310 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21311 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21312 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21313 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21314 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21315 one of them separately.
21318 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21319 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21320 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21321 header. For more details, and for the external application
21322 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21323 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21324 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21326 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21330 (require 'hashcash)
21331 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21334 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21335 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21336 development contrib directory.
21338 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21342 @item hashcash-default-payment
21343 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21344 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21345 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21346 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21348 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21349 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21350 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21351 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21352 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21353 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21354 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21355 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21359 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21363 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21364 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21365 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21366 a useful contribution, however.
21368 @node Filtering Spam Using spam.el
21369 @subsection Filtering Spam Using spam.el
21370 @cindex spam filtering
21373 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21374 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21375 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21376 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21379 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21380 the following keyboard commands:
21390 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21391 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21393 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{H} mark.
21394 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21395 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21396 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21402 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21403 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21405 You must have bogofilter processing enabled for that command to work
21412 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21413 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21416 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21417 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21418 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21419 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21420 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21421 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21422 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21423 will be detected later.
21425 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21426 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21427 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21428 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21429 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21430 by customizing the corresponding variable
21431 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21432 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21433 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21434 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21435 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21436 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21437 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21440 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21441 they get the @samp{H} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21442 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{H} mark for
21443 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{H}
21444 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21445 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21446 spam-marked (@samp{H}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21447 will study them as spam samples.
21449 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21450 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21451 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21452 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21453 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21454 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21455 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21456 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21458 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21459 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21460 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21461 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21464 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21465 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21466 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21469 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21470 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21471 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21472 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21473 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21474 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{H},
21477 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21478 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21479 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21480 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21481 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21482 parameter or the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations} variable. The
21483 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21484 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21486 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21487 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21489 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21490 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21491 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or the
21492 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable. The location is a
21493 group name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not
21494 set, the spam articles are only expired.
21496 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21497 must add the following to your fancy split list
21498 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21504 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21505 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21506 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21508 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21509 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21510 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21511 but you can customize it.
21513 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21514 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21515 longer spam or ham.}
21517 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21518 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21521 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21522 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21525 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21526 * BBDB Whitelists::
21529 * ifile spam filtering::
21530 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21531 * Extending spam.el::
21534 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21535 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21536 @cindex spam filtering
21537 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21538 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21541 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21542 Set this variable to t if you want to use blacklists when splitting
21543 incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist will be
21544 sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit filter,
21545 meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to be
21549 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21550 Set this variable to t if you want to use whitelists when splitting
21551 incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the whitelist will
21552 be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an implicit filter,
21553 meaning it believes everyone to be a spammer unless told otherwise.
21557 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21558 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21559 customizing the group parameters or the
21560 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21561 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21562 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21565 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21566 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21567 customizing the group parameters or the
21568 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21569 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21570 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21571 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21572 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21575 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21576 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21577 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21578 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21579 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21581 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21582 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21583 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21584 whitelists is very comprehensive or permissive. Also see @ref{BBDB
21585 Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21588 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21589 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21590 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21591 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21592 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21593 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21595 @node BBDB Whitelists
21596 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21597 @cindex spam filtering
21598 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21599 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21602 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21604 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21605 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21606 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21607 @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21608 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21612 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21613 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21614 customizing the group parameters or the
21615 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21616 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21617 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21618 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21619 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21623 @subsubsection Blackholes
21624 @cindex spam filtering
21625 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21628 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21630 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21631 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21632 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21633 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21634 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21635 contains outdated servers.
21637 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21638 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21639 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21640 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21641 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21642 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21646 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21648 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21652 @defvar spam-use-dig
21654 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21655 The default setting of t is recommended.
21659 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21660 ham processor for blackholes.
21663 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21664 @cindex spam filtering
21665 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21668 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21670 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21671 speedy Bogofilter. This has been tested with a locally patched copy
21672 of version 0.4. Make sure to read the installation comments in
21675 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{H} mark for spam
21676 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21677 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21678 category, spam or not. The shell command @command{head -1
21679 ~/.bogofilter/*} shows both article counts. The command @kbd{S t} in
21680 summary mode, either for debugging or for curiosity, triggers
21681 Bogofilter into displaying in another buffer the @emph{spamicity}
21682 score of the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0), together with the
21683 article words which most significantly contribute to the score.
21685 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21686 processing will be turned off.
21691 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21692 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21693 customizing the group parameters or the
21694 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21695 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21696 will be added to the bogofilter spam database, and ham-marked articles
21697 will be added to the bogofilter ham database. @strong{Note that the
21698 Bogofilter spam processor is the only spam processor to also do ham
21702 @node ifile spam filtering
21703 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21704 @cindex spam filtering
21705 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21708 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21710 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21711 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21715 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21717 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21718 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21719 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21723 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21725 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21726 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21727 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21730 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21732 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21733 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21737 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21738 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21739 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21740 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21743 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21744 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21745 @cindex spam filtering
21746 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21747 @cindex spam-stat.el
21750 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)}.
21752 @defvar spam-use-stat
21754 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21755 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21759 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21760 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21761 customizing the group parameters or the
21762 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21763 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21764 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21767 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21768 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21769 customizing the group parameters or the
21770 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21771 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21772 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21773 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21774 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21777 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21778 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21779 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21780 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21783 @node Extending spam.el
21784 @subsubsection Extending spam.el
21785 @cindex spam filtering
21786 @cindex spam.el, extending
21787 @cindex extending spam.el
21789 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21790 incoming mail, provide the following:
21798 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21799 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21804 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21806 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21811 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21812 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21813 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21816 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21823 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21824 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21827 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21828 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21829 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21831 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21832 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21833 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
21841 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
21842 (spam-generic-register-routine
21843 ;; the spam function
21845 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21846 (when (stringp from)
21847 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
21848 ;; the ham function
21851 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
21852 (spam-generic-register-routine
21853 ;; the spam function
21855 ;; the ham function
21857 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21858 (when (stringp from)
21859 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
21862 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
21863 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
21864 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
21865 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
21866 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
21867 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
21872 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)
21873 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)
21874 @cindex Paul Graham
21875 @cindex Graham, Paul
21876 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
21877 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
21878 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
21880 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
21881 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
21882 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
21883 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
21884 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
21885 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
21886 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
21887 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
21888 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
21891 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
21892 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
21893 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
21894 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
21895 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
21896 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
21897 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
21898 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
21900 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
21901 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
21902 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
21903 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
21904 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
21907 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
21908 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
21909 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
21912 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21913 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21915 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
21916 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
21917 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
21918 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
21919 need several hundred emails in both collections.
21921 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
21922 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
21923 per mail. Use the following:
21925 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
21926 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
21927 is treated as one spam mail.
21930 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
21931 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
21932 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
21935 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
21936 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
21937 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
21938 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
21939 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
21940 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
21943 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
21944 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
21945 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
21946 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
21949 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
21950 reset the dictionary.
21952 @defun spam-stat-reset
21953 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
21956 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
21957 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
21958 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
21959 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
21960 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
21961 only non-spam mails.
21963 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
21964 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
21965 to update the dictionary incrementally.
21968 @defun spam-stat-save
21969 Save the dictionary.
21972 @defvar spam-stat-file
21973 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
21974 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
21977 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
21978 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
21980 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
21981 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
21984 (require 'spam-stat)
21988 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
21991 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
21992 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. In the simplest case, you only have
21993 two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says
21994 that mail is either spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is
21995 spam, then @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
21998 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
21999 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22003 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22004 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22007 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22008 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22009 expression are considered potential spam.
22012 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22013 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22014 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22018 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22019 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22020 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22021 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22022 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22025 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22026 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22027 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22031 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22032 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22033 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22034 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22035 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22039 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22040 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22041 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22042 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22047 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22048 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22050 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22052 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22053 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22054 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22057 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22058 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22059 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22062 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22063 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22064 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22065 already been processed as non-spam.
22068 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22069 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22070 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22071 been processed as spam.
22074 @defun spam-stat-save
22075 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22076 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22079 @defun spam-stat-load
22080 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22081 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22084 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22085 Return the spam score for a word.
22088 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22089 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22092 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22093 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22094 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22097 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22098 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22101 (require 'spam-stat)
22105 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22108 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22109 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22110 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22111 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22112 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22113 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22114 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22115 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22116 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22117 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22118 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22119 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22120 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22121 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22124 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22127 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22128 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22129 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22130 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22131 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22132 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22135 @node Various Various
22136 @section Various Various
22142 @item gnus-home-directory
22143 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
22144 defaults to @file{~/}.
22146 @item gnus-directory
22147 @vindex gnus-directory
22148 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
22149 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
22150 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22152 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22153 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22154 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22155 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22157 @item gnus-default-directory
22158 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22159 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22160 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22161 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22162 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22163 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22164 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22167 @vindex gnus-verbose
22168 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22169 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22170 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22171 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22172 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22174 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22175 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22176 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22177 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22179 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22180 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22181 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22182 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22183 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22184 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22185 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22186 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22187 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22188 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22190 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22191 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22192 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22193 read when doing the operation described above.
22195 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22196 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22198 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22199 @cindex characters in file names
22200 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22201 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22202 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22205 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22209 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22210 Windows (phooey) systems.
22212 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22213 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22214 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22215 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22216 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22218 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22219 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22220 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22221 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22222 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22224 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22225 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22226 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22228 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22229 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22231 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22232 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22233 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22234 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22237 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22245 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22246 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22248 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22250 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22256 Not because of victories @*
22259 but for the common sunshine,@*
22261 the largess of the spring.
22265 but for the day's work done@*
22266 as well as I was able;@*
22267 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22268 but at the common table.@*
22273 @chapter Appendices
22276 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22277 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22278 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22279 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22280 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22281 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22282 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22283 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22284 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22291 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22293 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22294 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22295 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22296 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22297 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22298 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22305 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22306 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22308 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22309 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22310 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22311 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22312 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22314 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22315 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22316 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22317 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22318 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22319 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22321 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22322 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22323 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22324 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22327 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22328 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22329 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22330 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22331 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22332 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22333 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22334 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22335 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22339 @node Gnus Versions
22340 @subsection Gnus Versions
22342 @cindex September Gnus
22344 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22345 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22349 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22350 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22351 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22353 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22354 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22356 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22357 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22359 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22360 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22362 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22363 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22366 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22368 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22369 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22370 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22371 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22372 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22373 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22376 @node Other Gnus Versions
22377 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22380 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22381 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22382 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22383 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22385 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22386 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22387 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22388 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22395 What's the point of Gnus?
22397 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22398 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22399 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22400 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22401 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22402 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22403 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22404 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22405 keep track of millions of people who post?
22407 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22408 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22409 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22410 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22411 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22412 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22413 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22414 every one of you to explore and invent.
22416 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22417 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22420 @node Compatibility
22421 @subsection Compatibility
22423 @cindex compatibility
22424 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22425 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22426 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22431 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22435 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22438 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22441 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22442 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22443 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22444 important variables have their values copied into their global
22445 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22446 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22448 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22449 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22450 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22451 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22452 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22456 @cindex highlighting
22457 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22458 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22459 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22460 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22461 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22462 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22465 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22466 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22467 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22468 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22470 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22471 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22472 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22473 to stop doing it the old way.
22475 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22477 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22479 @cindex reporting bugs
22481 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22482 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22483 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22485 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22486 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22487 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22488 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22493 @subsection Conformity
22495 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22496 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22504 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22508 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22510 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22511 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22512 We do have some breaches to this one.
22518 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22519 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22520 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22521 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22522 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22527 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22528 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22529 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22530 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22532 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22534 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22536 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22537 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22539 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22542 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22543 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22544 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22545 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22546 decoding (verification and decryption).
22548 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22549 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22550 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22551 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22553 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22554 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22556 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22557 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22558 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22559 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22560 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22561 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22562 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22566 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22567 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22572 @subsection Emacsen
22578 Gnus should work on :
22586 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
22590 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22591 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22592 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
22593 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
22594 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
22596 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22597 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22598 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22602 @node Gnus Development
22603 @subsection Gnus Development
22605 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22606 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22607 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22608 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22609 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22610 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22611 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22612 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22614 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22615 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22616 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22617 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22618 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22621 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22622 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22623 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22624 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22625 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22627 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22628 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22629 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22630 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22631 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22632 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22633 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22634 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22635 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22636 can't be assumed to do so.
22641 @subsection Contributors
22642 @cindex contributors
22644 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22645 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22646 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22647 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22648 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22649 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22650 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22651 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22652 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22653 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22655 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22661 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22664 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22665 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22666 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22667 functionality and stuff.
22670 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22671 well as numerous other things).
22674 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22677 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22680 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22683 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22686 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22687 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22690 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22693 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22694 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22697 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22700 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22703 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22706 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22709 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22710 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22713 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22716 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22719 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22722 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22726 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22729 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22732 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22735 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22736 well as autoconf support.
22740 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22741 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22743 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22752 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22756 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22766 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22781 Massimo Campostrini,
22786 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22787 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22791 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22794 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22800 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22805 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22809 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22817 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22819 Michelangelo Grigni,
22823 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22825 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
22827 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
22834 François Felix Ingrand,
22835 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
22836 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
22838 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
22849 Peter Skov Knudsen,
22850 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
22852 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
22853 Thor Kristoffersen,
22856 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
22874 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
22875 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
22882 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
22887 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
22891 John McClary Prevost,
22897 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
22902 Christian von Roques,
22905 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
22912 Philippe Schnoebelen,
22914 Randal L. Schwartz,
22928 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
22933 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
22949 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
22954 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
22955 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
22956 (550kB and counting).
22958 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
22961 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
22962 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
22966 @subsection New Features
22967 @cindex new features
22970 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
22971 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
22972 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
22973 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
22974 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
22977 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
22978 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
22979 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
22982 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
22984 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
22989 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
22990 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
22993 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
22994 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
22997 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23000 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23001 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23002 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23005 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23006 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23007 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23008 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23011 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23012 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23015 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23016 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23017 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23020 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23021 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23024 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23025 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23026 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23029 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23030 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23031 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23034 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
23035 the @file{.emacs} file.
23038 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23039 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23042 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23043 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23046 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23047 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23050 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23051 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23054 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23055 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23058 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23061 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23062 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23065 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23066 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23069 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23070 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23073 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23076 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23077 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23080 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23084 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23088 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23089 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23092 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23098 @node September Gnus
23099 @subsubsection September Gnus
23103 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23107 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23112 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23113 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23117 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23118 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23122 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23126 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23127 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23130 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23134 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23137 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23140 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23143 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23147 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23148 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23151 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23155 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23159 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23163 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23167 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23170 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23171 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23174 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23178 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23179 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23182 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23185 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23186 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23187 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23190 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23194 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23197 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23201 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23202 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23205 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23206 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23209 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23210 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23213 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23214 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23215 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23218 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23219 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23222 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23225 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23228 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23231 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23234 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23235 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23238 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23242 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23245 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23250 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23253 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23257 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23260 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23264 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23267 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23270 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23271 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23274 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23275 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23279 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23280 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23283 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23287 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23288 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23291 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23294 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23298 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23302 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23303 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23306 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23310 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23311 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23314 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23315 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23318 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23322 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23325 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23328 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23334 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23336 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23340 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23347 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23350 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23351 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23354 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23355 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23359 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23360 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23363 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23366 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23367 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23370 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23374 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23375 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23379 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23380 Server Internals}).
23383 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23387 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23390 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23391 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23394 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23395 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23396 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23399 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23400 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23403 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23404 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23407 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23411 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23412 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23415 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23416 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23419 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23423 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23426 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23430 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23431 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23434 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23435 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23438 A new command for reading collections of documents
23439 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23440 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23443 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23447 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23448 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23451 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23452 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23453 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23456 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23457 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23461 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23465 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23469 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23474 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23478 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23482 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23483 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23486 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23492 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23494 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23499 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23500 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23501 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23504 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23505 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23506 group, which is created automatically.
23509 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23513 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23516 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23517 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23520 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23524 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23527 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23528 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23531 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23534 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23535 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23538 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23539 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23542 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23543 control over simplification.
23546 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23549 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23553 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23556 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23559 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23560 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23561 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23564 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23565 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23568 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23572 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23573 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23576 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23577 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23580 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23584 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23587 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23590 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23591 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23594 A new function for citing in Message has been
23595 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23598 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23601 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23605 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23606 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23609 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23610 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23613 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23616 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23620 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23621 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23623 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23628 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23629 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23631 If you used procmail like in
23634 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23635 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23636 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23637 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23640 this now has changed to
23644 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23648 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23649 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23652 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23653 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23656 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23657 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23660 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23661 called to position point.
23664 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23665 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23668 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23669 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23672 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23673 subtly different manner.
23676 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23677 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23678 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23681 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23689 @section The Manual
23693 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23694 either @code{texi2dvi}
23696 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23697 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23699 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23701 The following conventions have been used:
23706 This is a @samp{string}
23709 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23712 This is a @file{file}
23715 This is a @code{symbol}
23719 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23723 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23726 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23729 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23732 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23733 ever get them confused.
23737 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23738 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23739 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23740 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23741 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23742 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23743 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23749 @node On Writing Manuals
23750 @section On Writing Manuals
23752 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23753 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23754 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23755 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23756 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23757 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23760 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23761 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23762 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23765 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23766 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23771 @section Terminology
23773 @cindex terminology
23778 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23779 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23780 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23781 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23782 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23786 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23787 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23788 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23789 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23793 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23797 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23802 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23803 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23804 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23805 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23806 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23807 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23808 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23809 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23810 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23812 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23813 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23814 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23815 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23816 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23819 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23820 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23821 access the articles.
23823 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23824 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23825 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
23830 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
23831 default, way of getting news.
23835 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
23836 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
23841 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
23842 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
23846 A message that has been posted as news.
23849 @cindex mail message
23850 A message that has been mailed.
23854 A mail message or news article
23858 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
23863 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
23868 A line from the head of an article.
23872 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
23873 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
23877 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
23878 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
23879 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
23880 normal @sc{head} format.
23884 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
23885 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
23886 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
23887 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
23888 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
23889 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
23891 @item killed groups
23892 @cindex killed groups
23893 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
23894 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
23896 @item zombie groups
23897 @cindex zombie groups
23898 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
23901 @cindex active file
23902 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
23903 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23904 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23907 @cindex bogus groups
23908 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
23909 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
23910 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
23913 @cindex activating groups
23914 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
23915 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
23916 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
23920 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
23922 @item select method
23923 @cindex select method
23924 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
23927 @item virtual server
23928 @cindex virtual server
23929 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
23930 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
23931 whole is a virtual server.
23935 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
23936 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
23939 @item ephemeral groups
23940 @cindex ephemeral groups
23941 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
23942 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
23943 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
23946 @cindex solid groups
23947 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
23948 group buffer are solid groups.
23950 @item sparse articles
23951 @cindex sparse articles
23952 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
23953 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
23957 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
23958 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
23962 @cindex thread root
23963 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
23964 articles in the thread.
23968 An article that has responses.
23972 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
23976 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
23977 specified by RFC 1153.
23983 @node Customization
23984 @section Customization
23985 @cindex general customization
23987 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
23988 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
23989 for some quite common situations.
23992 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
23993 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
23994 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
23995 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
23999 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24000 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24002 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24003 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24004 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24008 @item gnus-read-active-file
24009 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24010 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24011 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24012 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24013 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24015 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24016 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24017 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24018 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24022 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24023 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24025 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24026 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24027 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24031 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24032 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24033 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24034 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24035 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24037 @item gnus-visible-headers
24038 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24039 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24040 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24041 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24043 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24045 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24046 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24047 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24050 @item gnus-use-full-window
24051 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24052 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24053 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24054 want to read them anyway.
24056 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24057 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24061 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24062 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24063 lines, which might save some time.
24067 @node Little Disk Space
24068 @subsection Little Disk Space
24071 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24072 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24076 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24077 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24078 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24079 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24082 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24083 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24084 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24085 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24088 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24089 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24090 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24091 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24092 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24098 @subsection Slow Machine
24099 @cindex slow machine
24101 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24102 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24104 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24105 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24107 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24108 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24109 summary buffer faster.
24113 @node Troubleshooting
24114 @section Troubleshooting
24115 @cindex troubleshooting
24117 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24125 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24128 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24129 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24133 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24134 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24135 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24136 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24137 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24140 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24144 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24145 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24146 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24147 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24148 something like that.
24151 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24154 @cindex reporting bugs
24156 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24158 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24159 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24160 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24161 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24163 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24164 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24165 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24166 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24169 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24170 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24171 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24172 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24173 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24174 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24176 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24177 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24178 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24182 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24183 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24186 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24187 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24188 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24189 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24190 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24191 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24192 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24193 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24194 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24195 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24196 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24197 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24198 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24199 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24204 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24205 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24206 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24207 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24208 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24209 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24210 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24211 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24212 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24213 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24214 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24215 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24216 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24217 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24218 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24219 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24220 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24221 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24223 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24224 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24226 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24227 @cindex ding mailing list
24228 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24229 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24233 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24234 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24236 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24237 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24238 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24239 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24242 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24243 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24244 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24245 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24246 and general methods of operation.
24249 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24250 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24251 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24252 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24253 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24254 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24255 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24256 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24257 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24261 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24262 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24263 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24264 @cindex utility functions
24266 @cindex internal variables
24268 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24269 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24270 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24274 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24275 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24276 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24278 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24279 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24280 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24282 @item gnus-group-real-name
24283 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24284 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24287 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24288 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24289 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24290 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24292 @item gnus-get-info
24293 @findex gnus-get-info
24294 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24296 @item gnus-group-unread
24297 @findex gnus-group-unread
24298 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24302 @findex gnus-active
24303 The active entry for @var{group}.
24305 @item gnus-set-active
24306 @findex gnus-set-active
24307 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24309 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24310 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24311 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24314 @item gnus-continuum-version
24315 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24316 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24317 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24320 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24321 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24322 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24324 @item gnus-news-group-p
24325 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24326 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24328 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24329 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24330 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24332 @item gnus-server-to-method
24333 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24334 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24336 @item gnus-server-equal
24337 @findex gnus-server-equal
24338 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24340 @item gnus-group-native-p
24341 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24342 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24344 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24345 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24346 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24348 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24349 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24350 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24352 @item group-group-find-parameter
24353 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24354 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24355 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24357 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24358 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24359 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24361 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24362 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24363 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24365 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24366 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24367 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24368 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24371 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24375 @item gnus-read-method
24376 @findex gnus-read-method
24377 Prompts the user for a select method.
24382 @node Back End Interface
24383 @subsection Back End Interface
24385 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24386 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24387 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24388 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24389 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24390 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24392 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24393 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24394 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24395 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24396 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24397 been opened, the function should fail.
24399 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24400 name. Take this example:
24404 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24405 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24408 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24409 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24411 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24412 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24413 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24415 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24416 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24417 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24419 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24420 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24421 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24422 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24423 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24424 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24427 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24428 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24429 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24430 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24433 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24434 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24435 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24436 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24437 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24438 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24439 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24440 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24441 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24442 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24444 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24445 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24446 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24447 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24448 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24449 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24450 of numbers as long as possible.
24452 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24453 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24454 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24456 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24459 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24462 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24463 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24464 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24465 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24466 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24467 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24471 @node Required Back End Functions
24472 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24476 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24478 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24479 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24480 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24481 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24483 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24484 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24485 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24486 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24488 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24489 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24490 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24491 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24492 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24493 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24494 number, do maximum fetches.
24496 Here's an example HEAD:
24499 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24500 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24501 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24502 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24503 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24504 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24505 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24507 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24508 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24509 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24513 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24514 these in the data buffer.
24516 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24520 head = error / valid-head
24521 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24522 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24523 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24524 header = <text> eol
24527 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24528 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24532 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24533 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24534 field = <text except TAB>
24537 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24541 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24543 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24544 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24546 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24547 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24548 server. In fact, it should do so.
24550 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24551 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24554 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24556 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24557 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24560 There should be no data returned.
24563 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24565 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24566 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24567 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24568 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24570 There should be no data returned.
24573 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24575 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24576 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24577 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24578 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24580 There should be no data returned.
24583 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24585 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24587 There should be no data returned.
24590 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24592 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24593 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24594 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24595 it would be nice if that were possible.
24597 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24598 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24599 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24600 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24601 into its article buffer.
24603 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24604 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24605 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24606 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24607 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24608 on successful article retrieval.
24611 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24613 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24614 making @var{group} the current group.
24616 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24619 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24622 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24625 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24626 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24627 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24628 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24629 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24630 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24631 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24632 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24633 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24637 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24638 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24639 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24643 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24645 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24646 a no-op on most back ends.
24648 There should be no data returned.
24651 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24653 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24656 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24659 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24660 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24663 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24664 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24665 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24666 and the highest as 0.
24669 active-file = *active-line
24670 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24672 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24675 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24676 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24677 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24680 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24682 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24683 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24684 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24685 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24686 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24687 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24689 There should be no result data from this function.
24694 @node Optional Back End Functions
24695 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24699 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24701 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24702 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24703 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24705 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24706 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24707 former is in the same format as the data from
24708 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24709 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24712 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24716 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24718 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24719 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24720 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24721 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24722 should return a non-nil value.
24724 There should be no result data from this function.
24727 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24729 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24730 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24731 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24732 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24733 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24734 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24735 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24736 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24738 There should be no result data from this function.
24741 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24743 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24744 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24745 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24746 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24747 propagate the mark information to the server.
24749 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24752 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24755 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
24756 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
24757 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
24758 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
24759 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24760 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24761 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24762 possible, not limit itself to these.
24764 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24765 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24766 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24767 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24769 An example action list:
24772 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24773 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24774 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24777 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24778 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24780 There should be no result data from this function.
24782 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24784 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24785 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24786 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24787 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24788 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24790 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24791 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24792 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24795 There should be no result data from this function.
24798 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24800 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24801 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24802 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24803 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24804 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24805 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24806 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24808 There should be no result data from this function.
24811 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24813 The result data from this function should be a description of
24817 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24819 description = <text>
24822 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24824 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24825 groups available on the server.
24828 description-buffer = *description-line
24832 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
24834 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
24835 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
24836 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
24837 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
24838 in the active buffer format.
24840 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
24841 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
24842 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
24843 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
24844 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
24845 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
24846 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
24849 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24851 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
24853 There should be no return data.
24856 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
24858 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
24859 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
24860 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
24861 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
24862 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
24865 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
24868 There should be no result data returned.
24871 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
24874 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
24875 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
24877 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
24878 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
24879 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
24880 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
24881 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
24882 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
24884 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
24885 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
24888 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24889 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24891 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
24892 article for that group.
24894 There should be no data returned.
24897 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
24899 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
24900 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
24901 this function in short order.
24903 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24904 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24906 There should be no data returned.
24909 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
24911 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
24912 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
24914 There should be no data returned.
24917 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
24919 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
24920 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
24921 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
24923 There should be no data returned.
24926 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
24928 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
24929 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
24931 There should be no data returned.
24936 @node Error Messaging
24937 @subsubsection Error Messaging
24939 @findex nnheader-report
24940 @findex nnheader-get-report
24941 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
24942 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
24943 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
24944 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
24945 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
24946 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
24949 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
24951 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
24954 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
24955 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
24956 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
24957 takes one argument---the server symbol.
24959 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
24960 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
24961 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
24964 @node Writing New Back Ends
24965 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
24967 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
24968 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
24969 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
24970 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
24971 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
24974 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
24975 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
24976 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
24978 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
24979 package called @code{nnoo}.
24981 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
24982 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
24988 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
24989 parameters. For instance:
24992 (nnoo-declare nndir
24996 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
24997 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25000 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25001 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25002 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25004 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25005 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25006 a function in those back ends.
25009 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25010 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25011 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25014 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25015 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25016 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25018 @item nnoo-define-basics
25019 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25023 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25027 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25028 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25029 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25031 @item nnoo-map-functions
25032 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25033 functions from the parent back ends.
25036 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25037 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25038 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25041 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25042 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25043 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25044 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25047 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25048 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25049 haven't already been defined.
25055 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25059 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25060 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25061 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25066 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25069 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25070 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25074 (require 'nnheader)
25078 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25080 (nnoo-declare nndir
25083 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25084 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25085 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25087 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25088 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25091 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25093 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25094 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25095 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25097 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25098 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25100 ;;; Interface functions.
25102 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25104 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25105 (setq nndir-directory
25106 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25108 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25109 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25110 (push `(nndir-current-group
25111 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25112 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25114 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25115 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25117 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25119 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25120 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25121 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25122 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25123 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25127 nnmh-status-message
25129 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25135 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25136 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25138 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25139 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25140 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25141 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25142 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25144 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25145 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25150 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25153 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25155 The abilities can be:
25159 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25161 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25163 This back end supports both mail and news.
25165 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25168 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25169 articles and groups.
25171 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25172 true for almost all back ends.
25173 @item prompt-address
25174 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25175 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25176 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25180 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25181 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25183 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25184 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25185 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25186 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25189 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25190 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25191 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25194 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25195 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25198 This function takes four parameters.
25202 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25205 @item exit-function
25206 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25208 @item temp-directory
25209 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25212 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25213 performed for one group only.
25216 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25217 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25218 find the article number assigned to this article.
25220 The function also uses the following variables:
25221 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25222 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25223 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25224 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25228 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25229 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25233 @node Score File Syntax
25234 @subsection Score File Syntax
25236 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25237 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25238 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25240 Here's a typical score file:
25244 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25251 BNF definition of a score file:
25254 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25255 element = rule / atom
25256 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25257 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25258 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25259 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25261 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25262 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25263 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25264 date-header = "date"
25265 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25266 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25267 score = "nil" / <integer>
25268 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25269 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25270 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25271 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25272 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25273 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25274 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25275 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25276 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25277 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25278 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25279 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25280 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25281 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25282 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25283 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25284 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25285 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25286 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25287 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25288 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25289 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25290 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25291 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25292 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25293 eval = "eval" space <form>
25294 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25297 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25300 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25301 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25302 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25303 one looong line, then that's ok.
25305 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25306 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25310 @subsection Headers
25312 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25313 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25314 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25315 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25317 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25318 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25319 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25320 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25321 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25322 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25323 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25325 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25326 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25327 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25328 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25329 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25331 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25332 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25338 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25339 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25341 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25342 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25343 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25344 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25346 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25350 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25353 is transformed into
25356 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25359 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25360 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25363 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25366 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25367 is slightly tricky:
25370 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25376 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25379 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25385 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25392 and is equal to the previous range.
25394 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25395 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25396 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25400 range = simple-range / normal-range
25401 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25402 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25403 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25404 number *[ " " contents ]
25407 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25408 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25409 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25410 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25411 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25416 @subsection Group Info
25418 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25419 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25420 describes the group.
25422 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25423 second is a more complex one:
25426 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25428 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25429 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25431 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25434 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25435 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25436 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25437 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25438 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25439 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25440 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25441 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25442 this section is about.
25444 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25445 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25446 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25448 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25451 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25452 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25453 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25454 group = quote <string> quote
25455 ralevel = rank / level
25456 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25457 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25458 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25460 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25461 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25462 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25463 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25466 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25467 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25470 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25471 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25474 @item gnus-info-group
25475 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25476 @findex gnus-info-group
25477 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25478 Get/set the group name.
25480 @item gnus-info-rank
25481 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25482 @findex gnus-info-rank
25483 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25484 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25486 @item gnus-info-level
25487 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25488 @findex gnus-info-level
25489 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25490 Get/set the group level.
25492 @item gnus-info-score
25493 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25494 @findex gnus-info-score
25495 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25496 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25498 @item gnus-info-read
25499 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25500 @findex gnus-info-read
25501 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25502 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25504 @item gnus-info-marks
25505 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25506 @findex gnus-info-marks
25507 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25508 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25510 @item gnus-info-method
25511 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25512 @findex gnus-info-method
25513 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25514 Get/set the group select method.
25516 @item gnus-info-params
25517 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25518 @findex gnus-info-params
25519 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25520 Get/set the group parameters.
25523 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25524 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25526 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25527 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25528 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25529 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25532 @node Extended Interactive
25533 @subsection Extended Interactive
25534 @cindex interactive
25535 @findex gnus-interactive
25537 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25538 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25539 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25542 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25543 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25548 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25549 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25550 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25551 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25552 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25553 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25554 @code{interactive}.
25556 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25561 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25562 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25566 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25567 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25568 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25571 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25575 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25579 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25585 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25586 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25590 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25591 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25592 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25594 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25595 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25596 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25597 Gnus, that's very useful.
25599 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25600 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25601 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25602 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25603 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25604 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25605 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25606 following function:
25609 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25613 (,function ,@@args))
25617 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25618 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25619 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25622 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25623 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25624 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25626 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25627 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25628 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25631 @node Various File Formats
25632 @subsection Various File Formats
25635 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25636 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25640 @node Active File Format
25641 @subsubsection Active File Format
25643 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25644 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25647 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25650 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25651 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25652 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25653 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25654 no.general 1000 900 y
25657 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25660 active = *group-line
25661 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25662 group = <non-white-space string>
25664 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25665 low-number = <positive integer>
25666 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25669 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25670 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25673 @node Newsgroups File Format
25674 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25676 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25677 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25678 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25681 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25682 Here's the definition:
25686 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25687 group = <non-white-space string>
25689 description = <string>
25694 @node Emacs for Heathens
25695 @section Emacs for Heathens
25697 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25698 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25699 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25700 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25701 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25702 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25703 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25707 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25708 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25713 @subsection Keystrokes
25717 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25720 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25723 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25724 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25725 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25726 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25727 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25728 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25730 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25731 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25732 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25733 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25734 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25735 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25736 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25738 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25739 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25740 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25741 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25742 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25743 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25744 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25746 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25747 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25748 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25749 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25750 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25756 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25758 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25759 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25760 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25761 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25763 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25764 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25765 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25766 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25767 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25768 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25769 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25772 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25773 write the following:
25776 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25779 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25780 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25781 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25784 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
25785 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25786 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25787 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25788 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25790 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25791 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25792 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25796 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25800 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25803 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25804 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25807 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25810 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25811 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25814 @include gnus-faq.texi
25834 @c Local Variables:
25836 @c coding: iso-8859-1
25838 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
25839 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
25840 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
25841 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
25842 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref