4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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286 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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295 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
297 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
300 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
301 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
302 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
303 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
304 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
305 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
306 License'' in the Emacs manual.
308 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
309 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
310 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
312 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
313 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
314 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
315 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
323 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
325 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
326 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
328 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
329 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
330 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
331 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
332 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
333 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
334 License'' in the Emacs manual.
336 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
337 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
338 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
340 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
341 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
342 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
343 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
349 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
351 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
354 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
357 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
359 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
360 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
361 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
362 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
363 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
364 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
365 License'' in the Emacs manual.
367 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
368 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
369 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
371 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
372 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
373 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
374 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
383 @top The gnus Newsreader
387 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using T-gnus. The news
388 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
389 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
392 T-gnus provides @acronym{MIME} features based on @acronym{SEMI} API. So
393 T-gnus supports your right to read strange messages including big images
394 or other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
395 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
396 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities. Oh,
397 if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
399 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
410 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
411 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
413 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
414 being accused of plagiarism:
416 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
417 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
418 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
419 can even read news with it!
421 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
422 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
423 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
424 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
425 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
431 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
432 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
433 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
434 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
435 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
436 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
437 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
438 * Various:: General purpose settings.
439 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
440 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
441 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
442 * Key Index:: Key Index.
444 Other related manuals
446 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
447 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
448 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
449 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
452 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
456 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
457 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
458 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
459 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
460 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
461 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
462 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
463 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
464 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
465 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
466 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
470 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
471 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
472 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
476 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
477 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
478 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
479 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
480 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
481 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
482 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
483 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
484 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
485 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
486 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
487 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
488 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
489 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
490 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
491 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
492 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
496 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
497 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
498 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
502 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
503 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
504 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
505 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
506 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
510 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
511 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
512 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
513 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
514 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
518 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
519 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
520 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
521 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
522 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
523 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
524 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
525 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
526 * Threading:: How threads are made.
527 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
528 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
529 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
530 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
531 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
532 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
533 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
534 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
535 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
536 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
537 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
538 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
539 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
540 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
541 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
542 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
543 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
544 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
545 or reselecting the current group.
546 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
547 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
548 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
549 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
551 Summary Buffer Format
553 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
554 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
555 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
556 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
560 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
561 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
563 Reply, Followup and Post
565 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
566 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
567 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
568 * Canceling and Superseding::
572 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
573 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
574 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
576 * Generic Marking Commands::
577 * Setting Process Marks::
581 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
582 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
583 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
587 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
588 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
590 Customizing Threading
592 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
593 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
594 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
595 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
599 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
600 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
601 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
602 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
603 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
604 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
608 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
609 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
610 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
614 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
615 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
616 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
617 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
618 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
619 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
620 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
621 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
622 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
623 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
624 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
626 Alternative Approaches
628 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
629 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
631 Various Summary Stuff
633 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
634 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
635 * Summary Generation Commands::
636 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
640 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
641 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
642 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
643 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
644 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
648 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
649 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
650 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
651 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
652 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
653 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
654 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
655 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
659 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
660 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
661 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
662 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
663 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
664 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
665 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
666 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
670 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
671 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
672 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
673 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
674 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
675 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
676 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
680 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
681 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
685 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
686 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
687 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
691 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
692 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
693 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
694 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
695 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
696 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
697 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
698 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
699 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
700 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
701 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
702 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
703 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
707 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
708 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
709 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
711 Choosing a Mail Back End
713 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
714 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
715 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
716 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
717 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
718 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
719 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
724 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
725 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
726 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
727 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
728 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
729 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
733 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
734 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
735 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
736 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
737 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
741 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
742 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
743 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
744 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
745 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
749 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
753 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
754 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
755 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
759 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
760 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
764 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
765 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
766 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
767 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
768 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
769 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
770 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
771 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
772 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
773 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
774 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
775 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
779 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
780 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
781 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
785 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
786 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
787 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
791 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
792 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
793 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
794 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
795 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
796 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
797 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
798 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
799 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
800 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
801 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
802 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
803 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
804 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
805 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
806 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
807 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
811 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
812 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
813 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
814 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
818 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
819 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
820 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
824 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
825 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
826 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
827 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
828 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
829 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
830 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
831 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
832 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
833 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
834 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
835 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
836 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
837 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
838 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
839 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
840 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
841 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
842 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
846 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
847 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
848 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
849 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
850 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
851 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
852 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
853 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
857 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
858 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
859 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
860 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
864 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
865 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
866 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
867 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
868 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
869 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
873 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
874 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
875 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
876 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
877 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
878 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
879 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
880 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
881 * Frequently Asked Questions::
885 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
886 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
887 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
888 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
889 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
890 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
891 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
892 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
893 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
897 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
898 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
899 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
900 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
901 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
905 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
906 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
907 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
908 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
912 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
913 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
914 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
915 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
916 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
917 * Group Info:: The group info format.
918 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
919 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
920 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
924 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
925 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
926 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
927 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
928 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
929 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
933 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
934 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
938 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
939 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
945 @chapter Starting gnus
950 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
951 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
954 @findex gnus-other-frame
955 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
956 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
957 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
959 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
960 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
961 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
963 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
964 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
967 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
968 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
969 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
970 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
971 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
972 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
973 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
974 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
975 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
976 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
977 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
981 @node Finding the News
982 @section Finding the News
985 @vindex gnus-select-method
987 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
988 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
989 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
990 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
993 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
994 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
997 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1000 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1003 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1006 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1007 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1008 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1010 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1012 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1013 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1014 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1015 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1016 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1017 If that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1018 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1020 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1021 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1022 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1023 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1025 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1026 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1027 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1028 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1029 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1030 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1031 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1032 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1033 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1036 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1038 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1039 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1040 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1041 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1042 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1043 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1045 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1047 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1048 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1049 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1050 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1051 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1052 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1055 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1056 you would typically set this variable to
1059 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1063 @node The First Time
1064 @section The First Time
1065 @cindex first time usage
1067 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1068 be subscribed by default.
1070 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1071 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1072 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1073 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1076 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1077 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1078 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1080 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1081 help you with most common problems.
1083 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1084 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1088 @node The Server is Down
1089 @section The Server is Down
1090 @cindex server errors
1092 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1093 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1094 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1096 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1097 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1098 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1099 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1100 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1101 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1102 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1104 @findex gnus-no-server
1105 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1107 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1108 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1109 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1110 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1111 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1112 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1113 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1117 @section Slave Gnusae
1120 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1121 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1122 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1123 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1125 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1126 @file{.newsrc} file.
1128 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1129 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1130 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1131 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1132 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1133 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1134 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) @file{.newsrc} file.
1149 If the @file{.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 @acronym{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 @acronym{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 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1460 @vindex version-control
1461 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1462 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1463 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1464 If you want version control for this file, set
1465 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1466 @code{version-control} variable.
1468 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1469 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1470 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1471 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1472 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1473 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1474 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1475 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1476 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1477 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1480 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1481 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1483 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1484 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1487 @vindex gnus-init-file
1488 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1489 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1490 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1491 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1492 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1493 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1494 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1495 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1496 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1497 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1503 @cindex dribble file
1506 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1507 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1508 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1509 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1510 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1513 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1514 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1517 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1518 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1519 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1521 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1522 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1523 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1524 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1525 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1526 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1528 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1529 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1530 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1533 @node The Active File
1534 @section The Active File
1536 @cindex ignored groups
1538 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1539 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1540 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1542 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1543 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1544 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1545 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1546 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1547 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1548 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1551 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1552 @c if you set it to anything else.
1554 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1556 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1557 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1558 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1560 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1561 you actually subscribe to.
1563 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1564 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1565 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1566 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1568 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1569 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1570 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1571 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1572 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1573 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1575 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1576 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1577 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1580 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1581 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1582 @acronym{NNTP} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1583 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1584 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1585 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1587 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1588 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1590 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1591 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1593 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1594 secondary select methods.
1597 @node Startup Variables
1598 @section Startup Variables
1602 @item gnus-load-hook
1603 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1604 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1605 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1606 times you start gnus.
1608 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1609 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1610 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1612 @item gnus-startup-hook
1613 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1614 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1616 @item gnus-started-hook
1617 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1618 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1621 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1622 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1623 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1624 generating the group buffer.
1626 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1627 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1628 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1629 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1630 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1631 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1632 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1633 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1635 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1636 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1637 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1638 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1639 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1640 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1642 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1643 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1644 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1646 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1647 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1648 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1650 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1651 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1652 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1653 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1659 @chapter Group Buffer
1660 @cindex group buffer
1662 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1664 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1665 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1666 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1667 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1668 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1669 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1670 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1671 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1672 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1673 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1674 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1675 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1676 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1677 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1678 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1679 @c human rights at 9...
1682 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1683 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1684 long as gnus is active.
1688 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1689 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1690 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1691 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1692 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1693 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1694 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1695 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1701 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1702 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1703 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1704 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1705 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1706 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1707 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1708 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1709 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1710 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1711 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1712 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1713 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1714 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1715 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1716 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1717 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1721 @node Group Buffer Format
1722 @section Group Buffer Format
1725 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1726 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1727 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1731 @node Group Line Specification
1732 @subsection Group Line Specification
1733 @cindex group buffer format
1735 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1736 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1738 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1741 25: news.announce.newusers
1742 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1747 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1748 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1749 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1750 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1752 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1753 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1754 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1755 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1756 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1757 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1759 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1761 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1762 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1763 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1764 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1765 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1767 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1768 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1769 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1771 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1776 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1779 Whether the group is subscribed.
1782 Level of subscribedness.
1785 Number of unread articles.
1788 Number of dormant articles.
1791 Number of ticked articles.
1794 Number of read articles.
1797 Number of unseen articles.
1800 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1801 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1803 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1804 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1805 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1806 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1807 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1808 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1809 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1810 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1813 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1816 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1825 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1826 comment element in the group parameters.
1829 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1830 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1831 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1835 @samp{m} if moderated.
1838 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1844 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1850 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1854 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1857 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1858 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1859 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1860 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1861 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1864 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1866 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1870 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1873 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1877 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1878 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1879 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1880 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1881 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1882 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1887 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1888 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1889 group, or a bogus native group.
1892 @node Group Modeline Specification
1893 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1894 @cindex group modeline
1896 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1897 The mode line can be changed by setting
1898 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1899 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1903 The native news server.
1905 The native select method.
1909 @node Group Highlighting
1910 @subsection Group Highlighting
1911 @cindex highlighting
1912 @cindex group highlighting
1914 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1915 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1916 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1917 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1918 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1920 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1924 (cond (window-system
1925 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1926 (defface my-group-face-1
1927 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1928 (defface my-group-face-2
1929 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1930 "Second group face")
1931 (defface my-group-face-3
1932 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1933 (defface my-group-face-4
1934 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1935 (defface my-group-face-5
1936 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1938 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1939 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1940 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1941 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1942 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1943 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1946 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1948 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1955 The number of unread articles in the group.
1959 Whether the group is a mail group.
1961 The level of the group.
1963 The score of the group.
1965 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1967 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1968 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1970 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1971 topic being inserted.
1974 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1975 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1976 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1978 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1979 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1980 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1981 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1982 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1985 @node Group Maneuvering
1986 @section Group Maneuvering
1987 @cindex group movement
1989 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1990 expected, hopefully.
1996 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1997 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1998 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2004 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2005 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2006 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2010 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2011 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2015 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2016 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2020 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2021 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2022 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2026 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2027 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2028 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2031 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2037 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2038 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2039 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2044 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2045 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2046 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2050 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2051 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2052 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2055 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2056 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2057 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2058 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2062 @node Selecting a Group
2063 @section Selecting a Group
2064 @cindex group selection
2069 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2070 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2071 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2072 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2073 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2074 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2075 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2076 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2077 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2078 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2080 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2081 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2082 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2084 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2085 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2090 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2091 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2092 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2093 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2094 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2098 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2099 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2100 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2101 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2102 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2103 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2104 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2105 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2106 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2107 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2110 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2111 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2112 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2113 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2114 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2117 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2118 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2119 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2120 doing any processing of its contents
2121 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2122 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2123 manner will have no permanent effects.
2127 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2128 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2129 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2130 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2131 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2132 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2133 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2134 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2137 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2138 Same as @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but only used for ephemeral
2141 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2142 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2143 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2144 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2145 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2146 Which article this is is controlled by the
2147 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2153 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2156 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2159 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2161 @item unseen-or-unread
2162 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2163 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2167 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2171 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2172 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2174 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2175 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2176 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2177 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2181 @node Subscription Commands
2182 @section Subscription Commands
2183 @cindex subscription
2191 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2192 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2193 Toggle subscription to the current group
2194 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2200 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2201 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2202 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2203 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2209 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2210 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2211 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2217 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2218 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2221 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2222 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2223 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2224 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2225 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2231 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2232 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2236 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2237 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2240 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2241 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2242 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2243 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2244 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2245 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2246 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2247 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2248 @file{.newsrc} file.
2252 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2262 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2263 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2264 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2265 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2266 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2267 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2272 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2273 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2274 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2278 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2279 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2280 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2282 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2283 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2284 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2285 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2286 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2287 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2294 @section Group Levels
2298 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2299 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2300 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2301 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2302 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2304 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2310 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2311 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2312 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2313 prompted for a level.
2316 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2317 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2318 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2319 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2320 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2321 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2322 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2323 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2324 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2325 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2326 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2327 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2328 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2329 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2330 reasons of efficiency.
2332 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2333 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2335 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2336 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2337 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2338 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2339 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2340 groups are hidden, in a way.
2342 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2343 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2344 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2345 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2346 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2347 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2349 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2350 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2351 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2352 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2353 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2354 list of killed groups.)
2356 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2357 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2358 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2360 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2361 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2362 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2363 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2364 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2365 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2366 relevant valid ranges.
2368 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2369 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2370 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2371 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2372 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2373 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2376 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2377 one with the best level.
2379 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2380 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2381 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2384 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2385 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2386 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2387 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2390 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2391 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2392 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2393 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2395 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2396 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2397 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2398 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2399 to 5. The default is 6.
2403 @section Group Score
2408 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2409 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2410 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2413 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2414 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2415 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2416 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2417 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2418 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2419 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2420 least significant part.))
2422 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2423 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2424 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2425 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2426 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2427 action after each summary exit, you can add
2428 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2429 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2430 slow things down somewhat.
2433 @node Marking Groups
2434 @section Marking Groups
2435 @cindex marking groups
2437 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2438 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2439 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2440 bidding on those groups.
2442 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2443 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2444 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2452 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2453 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2460 Remove the mark from the current group
2461 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2465 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2466 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2470 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2471 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2475 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2476 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2480 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2481 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2482 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2485 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2487 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2488 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2489 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2490 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2491 the command to be executed.
2494 @node Foreign Groups
2495 @section Foreign Groups
2496 @cindex foreign groups
2498 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2499 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2500 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2501 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2508 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2509 @cindex making groups
2510 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2511 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2512 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2516 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2517 @cindex renaming groups
2518 Rename the current group to something else
2519 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2520 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2526 @findex gnus-group-customize
2527 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2531 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2532 @cindex renaming groups
2533 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2534 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2538 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2539 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2540 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2544 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2545 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2546 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2552 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2553 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2558 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2559 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2563 @cindex (ding) archive
2564 @cindex archive group
2565 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2566 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2567 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2568 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2569 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2570 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2571 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2575 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2577 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2578 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2579 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2580 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2584 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2586 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2587 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2588 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2592 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2593 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2595 Make a group based on some file or other
2596 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2597 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2598 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2599 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2600 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2601 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2602 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2603 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2604 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2608 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2609 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2610 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2611 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2615 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2619 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2620 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2621 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2622 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2623 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2624 @xref{Web Searches}.
2626 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2627 to a particular group by using a match string like
2628 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2631 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2632 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2633 This function will delete the current group
2634 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2635 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2636 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2637 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2638 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2642 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2643 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2644 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2648 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2649 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2650 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2653 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2656 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2657 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2658 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2659 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2660 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2661 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2665 @node Group Parameters
2666 @section Group Parameters
2667 @cindex group parameters
2669 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2670 Here's an example group parameter list:
2673 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2677 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2678 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2679 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2680 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2682 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2683 is an alist of regexps and values.
2685 The following group parameters can be used:
2690 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2693 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2696 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2697 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2698 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2699 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2700 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2702 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2703 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2704 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2705 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2706 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2707 list address instead.
2709 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2713 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2716 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2719 It is totally ignored
2720 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2721 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2723 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2724 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2725 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2726 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2727 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2729 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2730 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2731 sending the message.
2733 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2734 @cindex Mail List Groups
2735 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2736 entering summary buffer.
2738 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2743 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2744 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2745 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2746 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2747 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{Mailing
2748 Lists, , Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual} for a complete
2749 treatment of available MFT support.
2751 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2752 directly uses this group parameter.
2756 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2757 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2758 of whether it has any unread articles.
2760 @item broken-reply-to
2761 @cindex broken-reply-to
2762 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2763 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2764 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2765 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2766 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2767 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2771 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2772 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2776 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2777 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2778 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2783 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2784 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2785 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2786 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2787 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2788 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2789 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2790 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2791 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2795 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2796 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2797 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2799 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2802 @cindex total-expire
2803 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2804 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2805 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2806 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2809 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2813 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2814 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2815 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2816 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2817 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2818 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2819 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2822 @cindex score file group parameter
2823 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2824 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2825 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2828 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2829 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2830 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2831 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2834 @cindex admin-address
2835 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2836 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2837 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2838 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2842 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2843 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2847 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2850 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2851 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2854 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2858 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2860 Here are some examples:
2864 Display only unread articles.
2867 Display everything except expirable articles.
2869 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2870 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2874 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2875 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2876 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2877 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2878 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2882 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2883 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2884 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2888 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2889 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2890 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2894 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2895 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2896 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2898 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2900 @item ignored-charsets
2901 @cindex ignored-charset
2902 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2903 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2904 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2906 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2909 @cindex posting-style
2910 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2911 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2912 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2913 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2914 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2916 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2917 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2918 like this in the group parameters:
2923 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2924 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2929 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2930 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2934 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2935 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2936 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2937 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2938 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2942 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2943 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2944 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2945 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2947 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2948 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2949 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2950 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2953 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2954 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2958 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2961 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2962 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2963 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2964 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2965 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2966 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2967 @code{eval}ed there.
2969 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
2970 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
2971 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
2972 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
2973 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
2974 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
2975 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
2976 @file{~/.gnus} file:
2978 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
2981 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2982 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2983 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2985 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
2987 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
2988 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
2989 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
2990 into the group parameters for the group.
2992 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2993 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2994 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2995 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2996 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
3000 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3001 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3002 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3003 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3004 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3006 @vindex gnus-parameters
3007 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3008 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3012 (setq gnus-parameters
3014 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3015 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3016 (gnus-summary-line-format
3017 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3021 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3025 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3029 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3032 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3033 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3036 @node Listing Groups
3037 @section Listing Groups
3038 @cindex group listing
3040 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3048 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3049 List all groups that have unread articles
3050 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3051 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3052 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3053 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3060 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3061 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3062 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3063 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3064 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3065 unsubscribed groups).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3070 List all unread groups on a specific level
3071 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3072 with no unread articles.
3076 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3077 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3078 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3079 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3084 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3085 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3089 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3090 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3091 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3095 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3096 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3100 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3101 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3102 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3103 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3104 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3105 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3106 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3107 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3111 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3112 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3113 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3117 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3118 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3119 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3123 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3124 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3128 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3129 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3133 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3134 List groups limited within the current selection
3135 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3139 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3140 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3144 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3145 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3149 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3150 @cindex visible group parameter
3151 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3152 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3153 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3154 get the same effect.
3156 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3157 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3158 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3159 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3160 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3163 @node Sorting Groups
3164 @section Sorting Groups
3165 @cindex sorting groups
3167 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3168 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3169 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3170 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3171 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3172 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3177 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3178 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3179 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3181 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3183 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3185 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3186 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3187 Sort by group level.
3189 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3190 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3191 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3193 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3195 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3196 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3198 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3199 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3200 Sort by number of unread articles.
3202 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3203 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3204 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3206 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3207 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3208 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3213 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3214 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3218 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3219 some sorting criteria:
3223 @kindex G S a (Group)
3224 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3225 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3226 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3229 @kindex G S u (Group)
3230 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3231 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3232 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3235 @kindex G S l (Group)
3236 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3237 Sort the group buffer by group level
3238 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3241 @kindex G S v (Group)
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3243 Sort the group buffer by group score
3244 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3247 @kindex G S r (Group)
3248 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3249 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3250 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3253 @kindex G S m (Group)
3254 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3255 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3256 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3259 @kindex G S n (Group)
3260 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3261 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3262 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3266 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3267 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3269 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3270 commands will sort in reverse order.
3272 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3276 @kindex G P a (Group)
3277 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3278 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3279 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3282 @kindex G P u (Group)
3283 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3284 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3285 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3288 @kindex G P l (Group)
3289 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3290 Sort the groups by group level
3291 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3294 @kindex G P v (Group)
3295 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3296 Sort the groups by group score
3297 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3300 @kindex G P r (Group)
3301 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3302 Sort the groups by group rank
3303 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3306 @kindex G P m (Group)
3307 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3308 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3309 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3312 @kindex G P n (Group)
3313 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3314 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3315 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3318 @kindex G P s (Group)
3319 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3320 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3324 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3328 @node Group Maintenance
3329 @section Group Maintenance
3330 @cindex bogus groups
3335 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3336 Find bogus groups and delete them
3337 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3341 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3342 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3343 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3344 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3345 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3349 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3350 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3351 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3352 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3353 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3354 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3357 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3358 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3359 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3360 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3365 @node Browse Foreign Server
3366 @section Browse Foreign Server
3367 @cindex foreign servers
3368 @cindex browsing servers
3373 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3374 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3375 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3376 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3379 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3380 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3381 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3382 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3384 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3389 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3390 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3394 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3395 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3398 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3399 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3400 Enter the current group and display the first article
3401 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3404 @kindex RET (Browse)
3405 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3406 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3410 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3411 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3412 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3418 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3419 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3423 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3424 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3428 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3429 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3430 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3435 @section Exiting gnus
3436 @cindex exiting gnus
3438 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3443 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3444 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3445 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3446 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3450 @findex gnus-group-exit
3451 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3452 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3456 @findex gnus-group-quit
3457 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3458 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3461 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3462 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3463 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3464 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3465 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3466 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3472 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3473 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3474 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3480 @section Group Topics
3483 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3484 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3485 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3486 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3487 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3488 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3492 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3493 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3504 2: alt.religion.emacs
3507 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3509 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3510 13: comp.sources.unix
3513 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3515 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3516 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3517 is a toggling command.)
3519 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3520 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3521 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3522 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3525 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3526 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3527 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3530 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3534 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3535 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3536 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3537 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3538 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3542 @node Topic Commands
3543 @subsection Topic Commands
3544 @cindex topic commands
3546 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3547 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3548 definitions slightly.
3550 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3551 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3552 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3553 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3554 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3555 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3557 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3564 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3565 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3566 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3570 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3572 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3573 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3574 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3575 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3578 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3579 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3580 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3581 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3585 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3586 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3587 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3588 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3594 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3595 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3596 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3600 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3601 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3602 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3605 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3606 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3607 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3608 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3609 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3611 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3612 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3616 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3617 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3624 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3626 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3627 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3628 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3629 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3630 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3631 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3635 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3641 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3642 Move the current group to some other topic
3643 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3644 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3648 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3649 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3653 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3654 Copy the current group to some other topic
3655 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3656 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3660 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3661 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3662 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3666 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3667 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3668 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3672 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3673 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3674 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3675 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3676 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3677 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3678 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3681 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3682 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3686 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3687 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3688 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3692 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3693 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3694 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3698 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3699 Toggle hiding empty topics
3700 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3704 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3705 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3706 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3707 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3710 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3711 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3712 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3713 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3714 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3717 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3718 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3719 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3720 expiry process (if any)
3721 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3725 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3726 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3729 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3730 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3731 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3735 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3736 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3737 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3740 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3741 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3742 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3745 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3746 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3747 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3751 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3752 @cindex group parameters
3753 @cindex topic parameters
3755 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3756 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3761 @node Topic Variables
3762 @subsection Topic Variables
3763 @cindex topic variables
3765 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3766 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3768 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3769 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3770 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3783 Number of groups in the topic.
3785 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3787 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3790 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3791 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3792 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3795 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3796 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3798 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3799 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3800 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3804 @subsection Topic Sorting
3805 @cindex topic sorting
3807 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3813 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3814 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3815 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3816 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3819 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3820 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3821 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3822 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3825 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3826 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3827 Sort the current topic by group level
3828 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3831 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3832 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3833 Sort the current topic by group score
3834 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3837 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3838 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3839 Sort the current topic by group rank
3840 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3843 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3844 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3845 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3846 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3849 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3850 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3851 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3852 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3856 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3857 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3858 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3859 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3863 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3864 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3868 @node Topic Topology
3869 @subsection Topic Topology
3870 @cindex topic topology
3873 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3880 2: alt.religion.emacs
3883 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3885 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3886 13: comp.sources.unix
3890 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3891 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3892 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3897 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3898 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3902 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3903 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3904 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3905 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3906 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3907 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3909 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3910 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3911 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3914 @node Topic Parameters
3915 @subsection Topic Parameters
3916 @cindex topic parameters
3918 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3919 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3920 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3922 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3927 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3928 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3929 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3932 @item subscribe-level
3933 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3934 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3935 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3939 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3940 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3941 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3942 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3948 2: alt.religion.emacs
3952 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3954 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3955 13: comp.sources.unix
3959 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3960 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3961 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3962 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3963 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3964 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3966 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3967 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3968 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3969 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3970 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3972 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3973 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3974 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3975 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3976 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3977 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3978 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3979 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3982 @node Misc Group Stuff
3983 @section Misc Group Stuff
3986 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3987 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3988 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3989 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3990 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3997 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3998 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3999 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4003 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4004 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4005 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4006 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4007 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4008 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4009 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4013 @findex gnus-group-mail
4014 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4015 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4016 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4017 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4021 @findex gnus-group-news
4022 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4023 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4024 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4026 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4027 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4028 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4029 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4030 for this to work though.
4034 Variables for the group buffer:
4038 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4039 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4040 is called after the group buffer has been
4043 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4044 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4045 is called after the group buffer is
4046 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4049 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4050 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4051 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4052 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4054 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4055 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4056 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4057 whether they are empty or not.
4059 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4060 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4061 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4062 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4066 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4067 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4070 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4071 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4072 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4073 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4074 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4075 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4076 default is @code{nil}.
4080 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4081 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4086 @node Scanning New Messages
4087 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4088 @cindex new messages
4089 @cindex scanning new news
4095 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4096 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4097 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4098 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4099 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4100 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4105 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4106 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4107 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4108 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4109 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4110 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4111 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4113 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4114 @cindex activating groups
4116 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4117 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4122 @findex gnus-group-restart
4123 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4124 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4125 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4129 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4130 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4132 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4133 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4137 @node Group Information
4138 @subsection Group Information
4139 @cindex group information
4140 @cindex information on groups
4147 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4148 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4151 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4152 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4153 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4154 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4155 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4156 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4157 used for fetching the file.
4159 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4160 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4164 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4165 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4167 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4168 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4171 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4172 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4173 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4177 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4178 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4179 @cindex control message
4180 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4181 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4182 group if given a prefix argument.
4184 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4185 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4186 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4187 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4189 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4190 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4191 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4195 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4197 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4198 @cindex describing groups
4199 @cindex group description
4200 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4201 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4202 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4206 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4207 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4208 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4215 @findex gnus-version
4216 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4220 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4221 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4224 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4227 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4228 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4232 @node Group Timestamp
4233 @subsection Group Timestamp
4235 @cindex group timestamps
4237 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4238 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4239 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4242 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4245 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4247 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4248 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4251 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4252 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4255 This will result in lines looking like:
4258 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4259 0: custom 19961002T012713
4262 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4263 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4267 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4268 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4271 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4272 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4276 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4277 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4278 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4279 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4281 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4287 @subsection File Commands
4288 @cindex file commands
4294 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4295 @vindex gnus-init-file
4296 @cindex reading init file
4297 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4298 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4302 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4303 @cindex saving .newsrc
4304 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4305 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4306 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4309 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4310 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4311 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4316 @node Sieve Commands
4317 @subsection Sieve Commands
4318 @cindex group sieve commands
4320 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4321 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4322 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4323 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4324 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4326 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4327 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4328 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4329 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4330 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4331 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4332 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4333 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4334 regenerate the Sieve script.
4336 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4337 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4338 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4339 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4340 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4341 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4342 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4343 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4344 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4345 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4348 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4349 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4354 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4360 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4361 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4362 @cindex generating sieve script
4363 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4364 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4368 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4369 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4370 @cindex updating sieve script
4371 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4372 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4373 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4378 @node Summary Buffer
4379 @chapter Summary Buffer
4380 @cindex summary buffer
4382 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4383 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4385 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4386 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4388 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4391 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4392 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4393 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4394 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4395 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4396 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4397 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4398 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4399 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4400 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4401 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4402 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4403 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4404 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4405 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4406 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4407 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4408 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4409 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4410 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4411 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4412 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4413 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4414 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4415 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4416 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4417 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4418 or reselecting the current group.
4419 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4420 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4421 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4422 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4426 @node Summary Buffer Format
4427 @section Summary Buffer Format
4428 @cindex summary buffer format
4432 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4433 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4434 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4440 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4441 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4442 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4443 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4446 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4447 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4448 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4449 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4450 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4451 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4452 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4453 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4454 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4455 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4456 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4457 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4458 other function instead:
4461 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4462 'mail-extract-address-components)
4465 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4466 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4467 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4468 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4471 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4472 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4474 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4475 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4476 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4477 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4478 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4480 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4481 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4482 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4483 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4484 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4485 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4487 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4489 The following format specification characters and extended format
4490 specification(s) are understood:
4496 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4497 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4499 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4500 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4501 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4503 Full @code{From} header.
4505 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4507 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4510 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4511 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4512 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4513 may be more thorough.
4515 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4518 Number of lines in the article.
4520 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4521 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4523 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4524 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4526 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4528 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4529 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4542 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4543 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4544 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4545 line-drawing glyphs.
4547 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4548 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4549 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4550 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4552 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4553 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4554 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4555 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4557 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4558 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4559 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4560 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4562 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4563 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4564 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4566 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4567 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4568 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4570 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4571 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4572 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4574 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4575 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4576 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4581 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4582 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4584 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4585 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4587 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4588 for adopted articles.
4590 One space for each thread level.
4592 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4594 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4597 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4598 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4599 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4602 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4604 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4605 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4606 default level. If the difference between
4607 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4608 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4616 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4618 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4624 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4625 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4627 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4628 article has any children.
4634 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4635 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4637 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4638 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4639 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4640 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4641 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4642 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4645 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4646 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4647 There can only be one such area.
4649 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4650 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4651 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4652 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4653 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4654 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4656 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4657 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4659 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4662 @node To From Newsgroups
4663 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4667 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4668 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4669 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4670 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4671 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4675 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4676 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4677 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4681 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4682 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4685 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4686 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4689 @findex gnus-extra-header
4690 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4691 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4692 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4695 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4699 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4700 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4701 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4702 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4703 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4704 headers are used instead.
4708 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4709 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4710 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4711 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4712 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4713 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4716 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4717 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4718 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4719 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4721 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4725 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4727 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4728 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4729 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4730 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4734 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4737 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4738 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4741 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4742 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4743 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4749 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4750 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4753 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4754 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4756 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4757 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4758 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4759 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4761 Here are the elements you can play with:
4767 Unprefixed group name.
4769 Current article number.
4771 Current article score.
4775 Number of unread articles in this group.
4777 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4780 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4781 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4782 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4783 and no unselected ones.
4785 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4786 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4788 Subject of the current article.
4790 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4792 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4794 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4796 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4798 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4800 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4804 @node Summary Highlighting
4805 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4809 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4810 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4811 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4812 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4813 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4815 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4816 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4817 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4818 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4820 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4821 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4822 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4823 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4825 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4826 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4827 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4828 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4829 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4830 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4833 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4834 ((> score default) . bold))
4836 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4837 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4841 @node Summary Maneuvering
4842 @section Summary Maneuvering
4843 @cindex summary movement
4845 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4846 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4848 None of these commands select articles.
4853 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4854 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4855 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4856 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4857 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4861 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4862 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4863 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4864 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4865 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4868 @kindex G g (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4870 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4871 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4874 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4875 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4876 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4877 to the group buffer.
4879 Variables related to summary movement:
4883 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4884 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4885 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4886 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4887 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4888 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4889 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4890 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4891 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4892 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4893 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4894 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4895 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4896 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4898 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4899 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4900 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4901 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4902 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4903 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4904 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4906 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4908 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4909 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4910 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4911 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4912 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4914 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4915 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4916 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4917 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4918 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4919 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4920 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4921 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4924 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4925 the given number of lines from the top.
4930 @node Choosing Articles
4931 @section Choosing Articles
4932 @cindex selecting articles
4935 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4936 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4940 @node Choosing Commands
4941 @subsection Choosing Commands
4943 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4944 and they all select and display an article.
4946 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4947 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4951 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4952 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4953 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4954 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4956 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4957 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4958 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4963 @kindex G n (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4965 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4966 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4971 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4972 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4973 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4978 @kindex G N (Summary)
4979 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4980 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4985 @kindex G P (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4987 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4990 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4991 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4992 Go to the next article with the same subject
4993 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4996 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4997 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4998 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4999 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5003 @kindex G f (Summary)
5005 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5006 Go to the first unread article
5007 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5011 @kindex G b (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5014 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5015 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5016 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5021 @kindex G l (Summary)
5022 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5023 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5026 @kindex G o (Summary)
5027 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5029 @cindex article history
5030 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5031 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5032 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5033 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5034 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5035 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5040 @kindex G j (Summary)
5041 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5042 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5043 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5048 @node Choosing Variables
5049 @subsection Choosing Variables
5051 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5054 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5055 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5056 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5057 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5058 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5059 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5061 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5062 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5063 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5064 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5065 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5066 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5068 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5069 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5070 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5071 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5072 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5073 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5074 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5075 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5076 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5077 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5078 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5079 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5080 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5081 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5086 @node Paging the Article
5087 @section Scrolling the Article
5088 @cindex article scrolling
5093 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5095 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5096 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5097 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5099 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5100 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5101 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5102 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5103 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5104 what is considered uninteresting with
5105 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5106 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5109 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5110 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5111 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5114 @kindex RET (Summary)
5115 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5116 Scroll the current article one line forward
5117 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5120 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5122 Scroll the current article one line backward
5123 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5127 @kindex A g (Summary)
5129 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5130 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5131 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5132 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5133 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5134 the way it came from the server.
5136 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5137 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5138 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5141 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5146 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5151 @kindex A < (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5153 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5154 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5159 @kindex A > (Summary)
5160 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5161 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5165 @kindex A s (Summary)
5167 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5168 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5169 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5173 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5174 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5179 @node Reply Followup and Post
5180 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5183 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5184 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5185 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5186 * Canceling and Superseding::
5190 @node Summary Mail Commands
5191 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5193 @cindex composing mail
5195 Commands for composing a mail message:
5201 @kindex S r (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5204 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5205 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5206 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5207 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5212 @kindex S R (Summary)
5213 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5214 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5215 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5216 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5217 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5220 @kindex S w (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5222 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5223 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5224 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5225 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5228 @kindex S W (Summary)
5229 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5230 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5231 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5232 the process/prefix convention.
5235 @kindex S v (Summary)
5236 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5237 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5238 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5239 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5240 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5241 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5244 @kindex S V (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5246 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5247 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5248 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5251 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5252 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5253 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5254 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5255 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5256 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5257 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5258 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5261 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5262 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5263 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5264 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5265 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5269 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5270 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5271 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5272 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5273 Forward the current article to some other person
5274 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5275 headers of the forwarded article.
5280 @kindex S m (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5282 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5283 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5284 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5285 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5290 @kindex S i (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5292 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5293 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5294 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5296 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5297 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5298 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5299 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5300 for this to work though.
5303 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5305 @cindex bouncing mail
5306 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5307 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5308 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5309 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5310 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5311 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5312 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5313 very well fail, though.
5316 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5318 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5319 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5320 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5321 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5322 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5323 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5324 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5325 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5327 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5328 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5329 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5330 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5331 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5333 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5334 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5337 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5338 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5339 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5340 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5341 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5344 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5346 @cindex crossposting
5347 @cindex excessive crossposting
5348 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5349 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5351 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5352 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5353 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5354 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5355 command understands the process/prefix convention
5356 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5360 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5361 Manual}, for more information.
5364 @node Summary Post Commands
5365 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5367 @cindex composing news
5369 Commands for posting a news article:
5375 @kindex S p (Summary)
5376 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5377 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5378 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5379 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5380 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5385 @kindex S f (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5388 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5392 @kindex S F (Summary)
5394 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5395 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5396 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5397 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5398 process/prefix convention.
5401 @kindex S n (Summary)
5402 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5403 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5404 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5407 @kindex S N (Summary)
5408 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5409 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5410 message through mail and include the original message
5411 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5412 the process/prefix convention.
5415 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5416 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5417 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5418 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5419 headers of the forwarded article.
5422 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5423 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5425 @cindex making digests
5426 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5427 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5428 process/prefix convention.
5431 @kindex S u (Summary)
5432 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5433 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5434 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5435 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5438 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5439 Manual}, for more information.
5442 @node Summary Message Commands
5443 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5447 @kindex S y (Summary)
5448 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5449 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5450 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5451 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5452 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5457 @node Canceling and Superseding
5458 @subsection Canceling Articles
5459 @cindex canceling articles
5460 @cindex superseding articles
5462 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5463 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5465 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5467 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5469 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5470 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5471 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5472 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5473 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5474 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5476 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5477 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5480 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5481 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5482 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5484 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5485 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5486 your original article.
5488 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5490 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5491 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5492 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5495 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5496 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5497 have posted almost the same article twice.
5499 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5500 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5501 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5502 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5503 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5504 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5505 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5506 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5507 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5508 canceled/superseded.
5510 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5512 @node Delayed Articles
5513 @section Delayed Articles
5514 @cindex delayed sending
5515 @cindex send delayed
5517 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5518 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5519 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5520 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5523 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5526 @findex gnus-delay-article
5527 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5528 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5529 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5530 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5534 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5535 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5536 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5537 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5540 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5541 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5542 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5545 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5546 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5547 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5548 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5549 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5550 that means a time tomorrow.
5553 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5554 couple of variables:
5557 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5558 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5559 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5560 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5562 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5563 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5564 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5565 formats described above.
5567 @item gnus-delay-group
5568 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5569 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5570 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5571 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5573 @item gnus-delay-header
5574 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5575 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5576 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5577 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5580 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5581 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5582 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5583 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5584 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5586 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5587 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5588 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5589 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5590 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5591 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5592 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5595 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5596 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5598 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5599 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5600 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5601 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5602 argument is ignored.
5604 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5605 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5606 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5610 @node Marking Articles
5611 @section Marking Articles
5612 @cindex article marking
5613 @cindex article ticking
5616 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5618 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5619 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5620 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5622 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5625 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5626 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5627 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5631 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5635 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5636 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5637 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5641 @node Unread Articles
5642 @subsection Unread Articles
5644 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5649 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5650 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5652 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5653 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5654 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5655 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5656 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5657 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5658 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5661 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5662 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5664 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5665 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5666 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5667 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5671 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5672 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5674 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5679 @subsection Read Articles
5680 @cindex expirable mark
5682 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5687 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5688 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5689 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5692 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5693 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5696 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5697 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5698 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5701 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5702 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5705 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5706 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5709 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5710 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5713 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5714 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5717 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5718 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5721 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5722 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5725 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5726 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5730 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5731 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5732 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5736 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5737 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5739 One more special mark, though:
5743 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5744 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5746 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5747 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5748 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5749 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5755 @subsection Other Marks
5756 @cindex process mark
5759 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5765 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5766 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5767 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5768 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5769 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5772 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5773 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5774 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5775 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5778 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5779 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5780 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5783 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5784 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5785 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5788 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5789 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5790 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5791 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5794 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5795 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5796 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5797 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5798 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5799 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5802 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5803 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5804 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5805 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5808 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5809 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5810 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5811 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5812 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5816 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5817 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5818 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5819 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5820 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5821 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5824 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5825 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5826 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5827 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5828 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5829 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5833 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5834 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5835 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5836 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5837 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5840 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5841 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5842 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5843 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5844 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5845 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5849 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5850 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5851 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5853 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5854 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5855 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5859 @subsection Setting Marks
5860 @cindex setting marks
5862 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5867 @kindex M c (Summary)
5868 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5869 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5870 @cindex mark as unread
5871 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5872 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5878 @kindex M t (Summary)
5879 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5880 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5881 @xref{Article Caching}.
5886 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5887 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5888 Mark the current article as dormant
5889 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5893 @kindex M d (Summary)
5895 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5896 Mark the current article as read
5897 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5901 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5902 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5903 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5908 @kindex M k (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5910 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5911 and then select the next unread article
5912 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5916 @kindex M K (Summary)
5917 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5918 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5919 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5920 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5923 @kindex M C (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5925 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5926 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5929 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5930 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5931 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5932 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5935 @kindex M H (Summary)
5936 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5937 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5938 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5941 @kindex M h (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5943 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5944 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5947 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5948 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5949 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5950 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5953 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5954 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5955 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5956 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5960 @kindex M e (Summary)
5962 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5963 Mark the current article as expirable
5964 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5967 @kindex M b (Summary)
5968 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5969 Set a bookmark in the current article
5970 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5973 @kindex M B (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5975 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5976 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5979 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5980 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5981 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5982 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5985 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5987 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5988 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5991 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5993 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5994 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5995 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5998 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5999 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6000 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6001 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6002 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6003 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6004 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6005 The default is @code{t}.
6008 @node Generic Marking Commands
6009 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6011 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6012 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6013 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6014 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6015 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6018 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6019 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6022 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6023 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6024 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6025 to list in this manual.
6027 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6028 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6029 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6030 article, you could say something like:
6034 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6035 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6036 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6043 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6044 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6048 @node Setting Process Marks
6049 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6050 @cindex setting process marks
6052 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6053 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6054 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6055 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6056 commands into the cache. For more information,
6057 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6064 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6066 Mark the current article with the process mark
6067 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6068 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6072 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6073 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6074 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6075 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6078 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6080 Remove the process mark from all articles
6081 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6084 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6086 Invert the list of process marked articles
6087 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6090 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6092 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6093 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6096 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6097 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6098 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6099 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6102 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6104 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6108 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6109 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6112 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6113 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6114 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6115 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6118 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6119 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6120 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6121 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6124 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6125 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6126 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6127 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6130 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6131 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6132 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6135 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6136 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6137 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6138 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6141 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6143 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6146 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6148 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6149 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6152 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6153 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6154 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6155 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6158 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6159 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6160 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6161 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6164 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6166 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6171 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6172 set process marks based on article body contents.
6179 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6180 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6181 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6184 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6185 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6186 additional articles.
6192 @kindex / / (Summary)
6193 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6194 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6195 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6199 @kindex / a (Summary)
6200 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6201 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6202 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6206 @kindex / x (Summary)
6207 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6208 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6209 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6210 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6215 @kindex / u (Summary)
6217 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6218 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6219 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6220 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6221 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6224 @kindex / m (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6226 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6227 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6230 @kindex / t (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6232 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6233 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6234 articles younger than that number of days.
6237 @kindex / n (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6239 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6240 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6241 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6244 @kindex / w (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6246 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6251 @kindex / . (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6253 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6254 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6257 @kindex / v (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6259 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6260 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6263 @kindex / p (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6265 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6266 group parameter predicate
6267 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6268 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6272 @kindex M S (Summary)
6273 @kindex / E (Summary)
6274 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6275 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6276 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6279 @kindex / D (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6281 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6282 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6285 @kindex / * (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6287 Include all cached articles in the limit
6288 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6291 @kindex / d (Summary)
6292 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6293 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6294 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6297 @kindex / M (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6299 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6302 @kindex / T (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6304 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6307 @kindex / c (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6309 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6313 @kindex / C (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6315 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6317 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6320 @kindex / N (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6322 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6323 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6326 @kindex / o (Summary)
6327 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6328 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6329 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6337 @cindex article threading
6339 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6340 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6341 hierarchical fashion.
6343 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6344 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6345 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6346 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6347 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6348 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6349 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6351 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6355 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6358 A tree-like article structure.
6361 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6364 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6365 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6366 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6367 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6368 called loose threads.
6370 @item thread gathering
6371 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6373 @item sparse threads
6374 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6375 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6381 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6382 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6386 @node Customizing Threading
6387 @subsection Customizing Threading
6388 @cindex customizing threading
6391 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6392 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6393 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6394 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6399 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6402 @cindex loose threads
6405 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6406 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6407 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6408 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6409 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6410 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6412 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6413 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6414 There are four possible values:
6418 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6419 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6420 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6421 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6422 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6427 @cindex adopting articles
6432 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6433 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6434 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6435 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6438 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6439 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6440 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6441 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6442 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6443 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6444 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6445 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6446 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6447 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6450 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6451 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6452 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6456 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6457 display them after one another.
6460 Don't gather loose threads.
6463 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6464 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6465 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6466 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6467 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6468 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6469 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6470 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6471 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6472 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6473 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6475 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6476 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6477 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6480 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6481 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6482 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6483 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6484 simplification is used.
6486 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6487 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6488 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6489 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6491 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6493 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6499 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6500 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6501 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6502 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6507 (mapconcat 'identity
6508 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6510 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6513 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6516 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6517 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6518 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6519 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6520 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6521 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6523 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6526 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6527 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6528 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6530 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6531 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6534 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6535 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6536 Remove excessive whitespace.
6538 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6539 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6540 Remove all whitespace.
6543 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6546 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6547 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6548 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6549 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6550 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6551 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6552 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6553 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6555 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6556 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6557 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6558 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6559 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6560 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6561 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6562 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6563 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6567 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6568 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6569 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6570 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6572 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6573 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6574 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6577 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6581 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6582 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6588 @node Filling In Threads
6589 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6592 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6593 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6594 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6595 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6596 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6597 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6598 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6599 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6600 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6601 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6602 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6603 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6606 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6607 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6608 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6610 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6611 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6612 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6615 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6616 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6617 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6618 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6619 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6620 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6621 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6622 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6623 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6624 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6625 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6626 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6627 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6628 @code{nil} by default.
6630 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6631 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6632 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6633 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6634 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6635 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6636 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6638 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6639 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6640 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6645 @node More Threading
6646 @subsubsection More Threading
6649 @item gnus-show-threads
6650 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6651 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6652 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6653 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6654 slower and more awkward.
6656 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6657 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6658 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6661 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6662 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6663 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6668 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6669 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6670 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6673 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6674 unread, but you get my drift.)
6677 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6678 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6679 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6680 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6681 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6682 threads are expunged.
6684 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6685 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6686 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6689 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6690 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6691 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6692 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6693 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6694 result in a new thread.
6696 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6697 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6698 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6701 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6702 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6703 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6704 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6705 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6706 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6707 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6708 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6709 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6710 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6711 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6716 @node Low-Level Threading
6717 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6721 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6722 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6723 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6724 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6725 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6726 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6728 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6729 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6730 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6731 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6732 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6733 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6734 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6735 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6736 meaningful. Here's one example:
6739 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6741 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6742 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6744 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6746 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6753 @node Thread Commands
6754 @subsection Thread Commands
6755 @cindex thread commands
6761 @kindex T k (Summary)
6762 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6763 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6764 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6765 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6766 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6771 @kindex T l (Summary)
6772 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6773 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6774 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6775 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6778 @kindex T i (Summary)
6779 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6780 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6781 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6784 @kindex T # (Summary)
6785 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6786 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6787 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6790 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6791 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6792 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6793 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6796 @kindex T T (Summary)
6797 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6798 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6801 @kindex T s (Summary)
6802 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6803 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6804 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6807 @kindex T h (Summary)
6808 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6809 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6812 @kindex T S (Summary)
6813 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6814 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6817 @kindex T H (Summary)
6818 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6819 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6822 @kindex T t (Summary)
6823 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6824 Re-thread the current article's thread
6825 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6826 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6829 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6830 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6831 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6832 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6836 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6837 understand the numeric prefix.
6842 @kindex T n (Summary)
6844 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6846 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6847 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6848 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6851 @kindex T p (Summary)
6853 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6855 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6856 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6857 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6860 @kindex T d (Summary)
6861 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6862 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6865 @kindex T u (Summary)
6866 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6867 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6870 @kindex T o (Summary)
6871 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6872 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6875 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6876 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6877 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6878 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6879 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6880 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6881 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6882 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6883 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6884 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6885 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6886 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6890 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6891 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6893 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6894 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6895 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6896 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6897 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6898 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6899 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6900 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6901 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6902 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6903 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6904 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6905 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6907 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6908 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6909 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6910 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6911 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6912 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6913 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6914 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6916 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6917 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6918 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6920 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6921 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6922 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6923 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6924 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6925 ascending article order.
6927 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6928 by number, you could do something like:
6931 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6932 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6933 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6934 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6937 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6938 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6939 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6940 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6941 which the articles arrived.
6943 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6947 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6949 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6950 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6953 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6954 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6955 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6956 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6959 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6960 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6961 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6962 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6963 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6964 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6965 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6966 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6967 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6968 variable. It is very similar to the
6969 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6970 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6971 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6972 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6973 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6974 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6975 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6977 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6981 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6982 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6983 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6988 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6989 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6990 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6991 @cindex article pre-fetch
6994 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
6995 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6996 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6997 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6998 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7000 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7001 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
7003 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7004 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7005 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7006 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7007 connection is blocked.
7009 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7010 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7011 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7012 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
7014 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7015 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7016 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7017 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7020 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7023 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7024 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7025 happen automatically.
7027 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7028 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7029 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7030 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7031 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7032 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7033 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7035 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7036 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7037 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7038 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7039 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7040 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7041 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7042 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7043 article data structure as the only parameter.
7045 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7046 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7049 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7050 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7051 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7052 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7055 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7058 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7059 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7060 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7062 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7063 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7064 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7065 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7069 Remove articles when they are read.
7072 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7075 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7077 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7078 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7079 @c from the next group.
7082 @node Article Caching
7083 @section Article Caching
7084 @cindex article caching
7087 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7088 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7089 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7090 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7091 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7093 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7095 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7096 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7097 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7098 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7099 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7100 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7101 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7102 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7104 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7105 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7106 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7107 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7108 as dormant, and don't worry.
7110 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7112 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7113 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7114 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7115 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7116 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7117 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7118 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7119 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7120 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7121 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7123 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7124 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7125 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7126 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7127 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7128 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7129 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7130 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7131 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7132 not then be downloaded by this command.
7134 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7135 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7136 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7137 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7138 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7139 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7141 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7142 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7143 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7144 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7145 variables, the group is not cached.
7147 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7148 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7149 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7150 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7151 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7152 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7153 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7154 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7155 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7158 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7159 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7160 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7161 where, isn't that cool?
7163 @node Persistent Articles
7164 @section Persistent Articles
7165 @cindex persistent articles
7167 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7168 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7169 useful in my opinion.
7171 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7172 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7173 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7174 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7175 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7176 the expiry going on at the news server.
7178 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7179 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7180 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7186 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7187 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7190 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7191 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7192 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7193 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7197 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7199 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7200 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7201 interested in persistent articles:
7204 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7208 @node Article Backlog
7209 @section Article Backlog
7211 @cindex article backlog
7213 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7214 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7215 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7216 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7217 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7218 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7219 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7220 increase memory usage some.
7222 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7223 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7224 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7225 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7226 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7227 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7228 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7230 The default value is 20.
7233 @node Saving Articles
7234 @section Saving Articles
7235 @cindex saving articles
7237 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7238 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7239 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7240 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7241 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7243 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7244 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7245 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7247 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7248 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7249 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7251 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7252 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7253 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7254 deleted before saving.
7260 @kindex O o (Summary)
7262 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7263 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7264 Save the current article using the default article saver
7265 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7268 @kindex O m (Summary)
7269 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7270 Save the current article in mail format
7271 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7274 @kindex O r (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7276 Save the current article in Rmail format
7277 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7280 @kindex O f (Summary)
7281 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7282 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7283 Save the current article in plain file format
7284 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7287 @kindex O F (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7289 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7290 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7293 @kindex O b (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7295 Save the current article body in plain file format
7296 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7299 @kindex O h (Summary)
7300 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7301 Save the current article in mh folder format
7302 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7305 @kindex O v (Summary)
7306 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7307 Save the current article in a VM folder
7308 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7312 @kindex O p (Summary)
7314 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7315 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7316 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7317 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7318 complete headers in the piped output.
7321 @kindex O P (Summary)
7322 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7323 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7324 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7325 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7326 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7327 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7328 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7332 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7333 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7334 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7335 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7336 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7337 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7338 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7339 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7340 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7341 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7342 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7343 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7347 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7348 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7349 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7350 functions below, or you can create your own.
7354 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7355 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7356 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7357 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7358 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7359 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7360 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7362 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7363 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7364 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7365 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7366 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7367 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7369 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7370 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7371 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7372 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7373 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7374 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7375 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7377 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7378 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7379 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7380 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7381 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7382 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7384 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7385 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7386 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7387 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7388 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7390 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7391 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7392 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7393 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7394 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7397 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7398 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7399 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7400 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7401 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7403 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7404 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7405 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7406 reader to use this setting.
7409 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7410 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7411 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7412 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7415 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7416 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7417 available functions that generate names:
7421 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7422 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7423 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7425 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7426 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7427 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7429 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7430 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7431 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7433 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7434 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7435 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7437 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7438 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7439 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7442 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7443 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7444 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7445 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7446 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7450 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7451 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7452 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7453 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7456 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7457 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7458 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7459 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7460 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7461 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7462 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7463 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7464 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7466 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7467 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7468 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7469 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7471 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7472 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7473 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7476 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7477 lots of mail groups called things like
7478 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7479 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7480 following will do just that:
7483 (defun my-save-name (group)
7484 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7485 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7487 (setq gnus-split-methods
7488 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7493 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7494 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7495 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7496 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7497 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7498 all the files in the top level directory
7499 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7500 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7501 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7502 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7504 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7505 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7506 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7507 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7508 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7511 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7515 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7516 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7517 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7520 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7521 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7522 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7523 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7526 @node Decoding Articles
7527 @section Decoding Articles
7528 @cindex decoding articles
7530 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7531 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7534 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7535 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7536 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7537 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7538 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7539 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7543 @cindex article series
7544 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7545 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7546 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7547 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7548 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7550 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7551 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7552 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7554 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7555 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7556 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7558 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7559 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7560 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7563 @node Uuencoded Articles
7564 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7566 @cindex uuencoded articles
7571 @kindex X u (Summary)
7572 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7573 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7574 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7577 @kindex X U (Summary)
7578 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7579 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7580 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7583 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7584 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7585 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7588 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7589 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7590 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7591 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7595 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7596 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7597 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7598 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7599 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7601 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7602 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7603 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7604 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7607 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7608 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7609 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7610 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7611 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7612 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7616 @node Shell Archives
7617 @subsection Shell Archives
7619 @cindex shell archives
7620 @cindex shared articles
7622 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7623 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7624 some commands to deal with these:
7629 @kindex X s (Summary)
7630 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7631 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7634 @kindex X S (Summary)
7635 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7636 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7639 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7640 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7641 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7644 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7645 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7646 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7647 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7651 @node PostScript Files
7652 @subsection PostScript Files
7658 @kindex X p (Summary)
7659 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7660 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7663 @kindex X P (Summary)
7664 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7665 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7666 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7669 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7670 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7671 View the current PostScript series
7672 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7675 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7676 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7677 View and save the current PostScript series
7678 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7683 @subsection Other Files
7687 @kindex X o (Summary)
7688 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7689 Save the current series
7690 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7693 @kindex X b (Summary)
7694 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7695 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7696 doesn't really work yet.
7700 @node Decoding Variables
7701 @subsection Decoding Variables
7703 Adjective, not verb.
7706 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7707 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7708 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7712 @node Rule Variables
7713 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7714 @cindex rule variables
7716 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7717 variables are of the form
7720 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7727 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7728 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7730 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7731 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7734 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7735 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7738 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7739 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7740 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7741 user and default view rules.
7743 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7744 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7745 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7750 @node Other Decode Variables
7751 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7754 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7756 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7757 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7758 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7759 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7760 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7764 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7765 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7768 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7769 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7770 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7773 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7774 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7775 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7776 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7777 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7780 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7781 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7782 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7784 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7785 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7786 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7787 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7788 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7791 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7792 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7793 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7795 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7796 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7797 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7798 looking for files to display.
7800 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7801 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7802 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7805 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7806 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7807 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7810 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7811 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7812 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7815 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7816 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7817 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7820 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7821 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7822 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7823 decoded articles as unread.
7825 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7826 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7827 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7828 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7830 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7831 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7832 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7834 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7835 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7837 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7838 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7839 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7840 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7842 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7843 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7844 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7845 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7846 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7847 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7848 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7849 simply dropped them.
7854 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7855 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7859 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7860 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7861 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7862 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7863 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7864 for you when you post the article.
7866 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7867 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7868 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7869 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7871 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7872 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7873 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7874 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7875 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7876 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7877 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7879 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7880 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7881 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7882 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7883 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7884 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7885 Default is @code{t}.
7891 @subsection Viewing Files
7892 @cindex viewing files
7893 @cindex pseudo-articles
7895 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7896 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7897 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7898 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7899 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7900 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7901 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7903 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7904 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7905 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7906 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7908 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7909 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7910 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7912 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7913 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7914 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7915 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7916 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7918 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7919 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7920 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7921 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7922 a list of parameters to that command.
7924 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7925 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7926 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7928 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7929 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7930 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7933 @node Article Treatment
7934 @section Article Treatment
7936 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7937 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7938 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7939 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7940 these articles easier.
7943 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7944 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7945 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7946 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7947 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7948 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7949 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
7950 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7951 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7952 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7953 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7957 @node Article Highlighting
7958 @subsection Article Highlighting
7959 @cindex highlighting
7961 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7962 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7967 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7968 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7969 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7970 Do much highlighting of the current article
7971 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7972 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7975 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7976 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7977 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7978 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7979 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7980 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7981 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7982 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7983 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7984 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7985 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7986 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7989 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7990 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7991 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7993 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7996 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7998 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7999 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8000 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8002 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8003 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8004 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8006 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8007 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8008 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8009 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8010 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8011 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8013 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8014 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8015 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8017 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8018 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8019 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8021 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8022 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8023 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8024 that it's a citation.
8026 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8027 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8028 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8030 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8031 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8032 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8034 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8035 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8036 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8037 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8043 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8044 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8045 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8046 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8047 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8048 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8049 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8050 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8055 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8058 @node Article Fontisizing
8059 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8061 @cindex article emphasis
8063 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8064 @kindex W e (Summary)
8065 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8066 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8067 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8068 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8070 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8071 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8072 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8073 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8074 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8075 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8076 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8077 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8081 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8082 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8083 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8092 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8093 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8094 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8095 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8096 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8097 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8098 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8099 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8100 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8101 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8102 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8103 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8104 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8106 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8107 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8108 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8112 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8115 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8117 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8118 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8119 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8120 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8122 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8125 @node Article Hiding
8126 @subsection Article Hiding
8127 @cindex article hiding
8129 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8130 too much cruft in most articles.
8135 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8136 @findex gnus-article-hide
8137 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8138 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8139 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8142 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8143 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8144 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8148 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8149 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8150 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8151 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8154 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8155 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8156 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8160 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8161 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8162 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8163 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8164 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8165 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8166 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8167 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8171 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8172 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8173 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8174 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8179 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8180 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8181 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8182 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8185 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8186 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8187 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8188 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8191 @cindex stripping advertisements
8192 @cindex advertisements
8193 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8194 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8195 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8196 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8197 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8198 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8199 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8200 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8201 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8202 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8205 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8206 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8207 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8211 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8212 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8213 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8214 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8215 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8216 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8217 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8218 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8219 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8220 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8221 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8224 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8225 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8231 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8232 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8233 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8234 customizing the hiding:
8238 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8239 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8240 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8241 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8242 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8243 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8244 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8249 Starting point of the hidden text.
8251 Ending point of the hidden text.
8253 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8255 Number of lines of hidden text.
8258 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8259 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8260 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8261 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8262 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8267 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8268 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8270 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8271 following two variables:
8274 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8275 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8276 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8277 50), hide the cited text.
8279 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8280 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8281 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8286 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8287 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8288 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8289 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8290 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8291 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8295 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8296 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8297 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8299 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8300 citation customization.
8302 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8306 @node Article Washing
8307 @subsection Article Washing
8309 @cindex article washing
8311 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8312 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8314 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8315 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8318 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8319 articles by default.
8324 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8325 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8329 Force redisplaying of the current article
8330 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8331 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8332 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8333 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8336 @kindex W l (Summary)
8337 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8338 Remove page breaks from the current article
8339 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8343 @kindex W r (Summary)
8344 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8345 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8346 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8347 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8348 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8349 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8351 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8352 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8353 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8354 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8357 @kindex W m (Summary)
8358 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8359 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8363 @kindex W t (Summary)
8365 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8366 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8367 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8370 @kindex W v (Summary)
8371 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8372 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8373 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8376 @kindex W m (Summary)
8377 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8378 Toggle whether to run the article through @acronym{MIME} before
8379 displaying (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8382 @kindex W o (Summary)
8383 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8384 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8387 @kindex W d (Summary)
8388 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8389 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8391 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8393 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8394 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8395 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8396 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8399 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8400 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8401 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8402 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8405 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8406 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8407 @cindex Outlook Express
8408 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8409 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8410 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8413 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8414 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8415 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8416 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8417 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8418 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8419 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8420 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8421 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8422 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8425 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8426 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8427 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8428 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8431 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8433 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8434 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8437 @kindex W w (Summary)
8438 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8439 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8441 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8445 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8446 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8447 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8450 @kindex W C (Summary)
8451 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8452 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8453 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8456 @kindex W c (Summary)
8457 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8458 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8459 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8460 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8461 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8463 @kindex W q (Summary)
8464 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8465 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8466 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8467 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8468 makes strings like @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which
8469 doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually done
8470 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8471 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8472 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8475 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8476 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8477 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8478 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8479 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8480 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8481 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8482 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8485 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8487 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8488 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8489 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8492 @kindex W u (Summary)
8493 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8494 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8495 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8496 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8497 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8500 @kindex W h (Summary)
8501 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8502 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8503 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8504 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8506 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8508 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8509 The default is to use the function specified by
8510 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8511 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8512 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8513 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8521 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8524 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8527 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8530 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8535 @kindex W b (Summary)
8536 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8537 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8538 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8541 @kindex W B (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8543 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8544 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8547 @kindex W p (Summary)
8548 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8549 Verify a signed control message
8550 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8551 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8552 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8553 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8554 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8555 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8558 @kindex W s (Summary)
8559 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8560 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8561 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8562 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8565 @kindex W a (Summary)
8566 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8567 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8568 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8571 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8573 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8574 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8577 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8578 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8579 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8580 lines with a single empty line.
8581 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8584 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8586 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8587 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8590 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8591 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8592 Do all the three commands above
8593 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8596 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8597 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8598 Remove all blank lines
8599 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8602 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8603 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8604 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8605 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8608 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8609 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8610 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8611 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8615 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8618 @node Article Header
8619 @subsection Article Header
8621 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8626 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8627 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8628 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8631 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8632 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8633 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8634 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8637 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8638 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8639 Fold all the message headers
8640 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8644 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8645 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8646 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8651 @node Article Buttons
8652 @subsection Article Buttons
8655 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8656 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8657 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8658 button on these references.
8660 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8661 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8662 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8663 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8664 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8668 @item gnus-button-alist
8669 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8670 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8673 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8679 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8680 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8681 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8682 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8683 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8686 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8687 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8688 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8691 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8692 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8693 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8694 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8695 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8697 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8700 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8703 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8704 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8708 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8711 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8714 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8715 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8716 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8717 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8718 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8721 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{nutton-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8724 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8727 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8730 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8731 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8733 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8735 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8736 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8737 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8738 default values of the variables above.
8740 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8742 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8743 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8744 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8745 argument with a string naming the man page.
8747 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8749 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8750 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8751 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8753 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8754 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8755 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8756 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8757 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8758 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8759 a mail address, respectivly. If this variable is set to the symbol
8760 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8761 function will be called with the string as it's only argument. The
8762 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8763 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8764 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8766 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8767 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8768 Function that guesses whether it's argument is a message ID or a mail
8769 address. Returns @code{mid} it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if it's a
8770 mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the string is
8773 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8774 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8775 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8776 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8778 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8780 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8781 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8782 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8783 argument, the string naming the URL.
8786 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8787 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8788 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8792 @item gnus-article-button-face
8793 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8794 Face used on buttons.
8796 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8797 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8798 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8802 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8805 @node Article Button Levels
8806 @subsection Article button levels
8807 @cindex button levels
8808 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8809 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8810 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8811 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8812 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8813 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8814 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8815 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8818 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8819 (setq gnus-parameters
8820 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8821 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8822 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8827 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8828 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8829 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8830 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8831 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8832 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8834 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8835 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8836 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8837 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8838 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8839 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8840 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8841 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8842 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8843 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8844 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8845 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8846 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8848 @item gnus-button-man-level
8849 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8850 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8851 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8853 @item gnus-button-message-level
8854 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8855 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8856 Related variables and functions include
8857 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8858 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8859 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8860 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8862 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8863 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8864 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8865 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8866 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8867 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8868 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8874 @subsection Article Date
8876 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8877 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8878 when the article was sent.
8883 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8884 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8885 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8886 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8889 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8890 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8892 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8893 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8896 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8897 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8898 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8901 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8903 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8904 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8907 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8908 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8909 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8910 @findex format-time-string
8911 Display the date using a user-defined format
8912 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8913 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8914 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8915 for a list of possible format specs.
8918 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8919 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8920 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8921 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8922 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8923 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8926 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8929 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8930 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8931 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8934 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8935 into wonderful absurdities.
8937 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8940 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8943 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8944 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8948 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8949 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8950 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8951 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8952 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8953 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8954 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8958 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8959 preferred format automatically.
8962 @node Article Display
8963 @subsection Article Display
8968 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8969 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8971 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8972 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8974 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8975 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8977 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8978 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8980 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
8985 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8986 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8987 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8988 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8991 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8992 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8993 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8994 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8997 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8998 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8999 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9002 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9003 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9004 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9007 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9008 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9009 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9010 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9013 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9014 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9015 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9016 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9019 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9020 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9021 Remove all images from the article buffer
9022 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9028 @node Article Signature
9029 @subsection Article Signature
9031 @cindex article signature
9033 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9034 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9035 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9036 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9037 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9038 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9039 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9040 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9041 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9044 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9045 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9046 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9047 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9048 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9049 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9050 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9051 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9054 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9057 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9058 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9059 signature when displaying articles.
9063 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9066 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9069 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9070 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9072 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9073 in question is not a signature.
9076 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9077 listed above. Here's an example:
9080 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9081 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9084 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9085 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9086 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9087 signature after all.
9090 @node Article Miscellania
9091 @subsection Article Miscellania
9095 @kindex A t (Summary)
9096 @findex gnus-article-babel
9097 Translate the article from one language to another
9098 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9104 @section MIME Commands
9105 @cindex MIME decoding
9107 @cindex viewing attachments
9109 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9110 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9116 @kindex K v (Summary)
9117 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9120 @kindex K o (Summary)
9121 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9124 @kindex K c (Summary)
9125 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9128 @kindex K e (Summary)
9129 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9132 @kindex K i (Summary)
9133 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9136 @kindex K | (Summary)
9137 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9140 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9145 @kindex K b (Summary)
9146 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9147 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9151 @kindex K m (Summary)
9152 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9153 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9154 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9155 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9156 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9159 @kindex X m (Summary)
9160 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9161 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9162 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9163 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9166 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9167 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9168 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9169 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9172 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9173 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9174 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9175 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9178 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9179 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9180 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9181 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9183 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9184 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9185 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9186 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9187 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9188 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9191 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9192 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9193 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9194 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9201 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9202 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9203 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9204 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9207 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9210 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9214 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9215 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9216 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9217 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9218 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9219 default is @code{nil}.
9221 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9222 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9223 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9224 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9225 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9226 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9227 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9229 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9230 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9231 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9232 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9233 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9234 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9235 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9236 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9238 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9239 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9240 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9241 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9242 displayed. This variable overrides
9243 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9244 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9247 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9248 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9249 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9251 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9252 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9253 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9254 default value is @code{nil}.
9256 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9257 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9258 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9259 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9260 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9261 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9262 save all jpegs into some directory).
9264 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9267 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9268 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9270 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9271 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9272 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9273 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9274 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9277 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9278 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9279 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9281 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9282 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9283 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9284 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9286 Ready-made functions include@*
9287 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9288 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9289 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9290 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9291 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9292 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9293 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9294 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9295 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9296 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9297 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9298 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9300 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9301 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9303 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9304 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9305 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9308 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9309 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9310 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9311 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9315 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9324 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9325 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9326 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9327 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9328 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9329 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9330 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9332 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9333 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9334 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9335 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9337 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9338 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9339 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9340 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9341 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9342 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9343 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9344 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9345 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9347 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9348 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9349 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9350 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9351 quoted-printable header encoding.
9353 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9354 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9355 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9359 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9362 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9363 means encode all charsets),
9365 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9366 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9367 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9374 @cindex coding system aliases
9375 @cindex preferred charset
9377 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9379 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9380 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9383 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9384 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9387 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9388 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9390 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9393 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9396 This will almost do the right thing.
9398 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9402 (codepage-setup 1251)
9403 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9407 @node Article Commands
9408 @section Article Commands
9415 @kindex A P (Summary)
9416 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9417 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9418 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9419 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9420 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9421 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9426 @node Summary Sorting
9427 @section Summary Sorting
9428 @cindex summary sorting
9430 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9431 can't really see why you'd want that.
9436 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9437 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9438 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9441 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9442 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9443 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9446 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9447 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9448 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9451 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9452 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9453 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9456 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9457 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9458 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9461 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9462 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9463 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9466 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9467 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9468 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9471 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9472 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9473 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9476 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9477 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9478 Sort using the default sorting method
9479 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9482 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9483 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9484 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9485 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9486 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9490 @node Finding the Parent
9491 @section Finding the Parent
9492 @cindex parent articles
9493 @cindex referring articles
9498 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9499 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9500 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9501 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9502 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9503 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9504 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9505 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9506 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9508 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9509 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9510 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9511 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9512 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9516 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9517 @kindex A R (Summary)
9518 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9519 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9522 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9523 @kindex A T (Summary)
9524 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9525 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9526 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9527 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9528 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9529 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9530 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9532 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9533 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9534 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9535 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9536 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9537 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9540 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9541 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9543 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9544 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9545 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9546 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9547 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9548 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9549 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9552 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9553 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9554 by giving this command a prefix.
9556 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9557 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9558 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9559 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9560 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9561 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9564 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9565 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9566 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9569 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9570 then ask Google if that fails:
9573 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9575 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9578 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9579 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9580 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9581 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9582 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9583 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9584 support this at all.
9587 @node Alternative Approaches
9588 @section Alternative Approaches
9590 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9591 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9594 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9595 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9600 @subsection Pick and Read
9601 @cindex pick and read
9603 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9604 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9605 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9606 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9608 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9609 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9610 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9611 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9612 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9613 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9615 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9620 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9621 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9622 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9623 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9624 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9625 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9626 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9627 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9630 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9631 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9632 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9633 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9637 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9638 Unpick the thread or article
9639 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9640 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9641 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9642 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9643 the thread or article at that line.
9647 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9648 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9649 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9650 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9651 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9652 will still be visible when you are reading.
9656 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9657 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9658 which is mapped to the same function
9659 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9661 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9664 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9667 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9668 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9670 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9671 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9672 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9674 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9675 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9676 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9677 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9678 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9679 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9680 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9684 @subsection Binary Groups
9685 @cindex binary groups
9687 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9688 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9689 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9690 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9691 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9692 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9693 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9696 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9697 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9698 command, when you have turned on this mode
9699 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9701 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9702 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9706 @section Tree Display
9709 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9710 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9711 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9712 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9715 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9718 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9719 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9720 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9722 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9723 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9724 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9725 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9726 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9728 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9729 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9730 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9731 default is @code{modeline}.
9733 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9734 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9735 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9736 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9737 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9738 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9739 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9745 The name of the poster.
9747 The @code{From} header.
9749 The number of the article.
9751 The opening bracket.
9753 The closing bracket.
9758 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9760 Variables related to the display are:
9763 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9764 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9765 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9766 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9768 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9769 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9770 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9772 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9774 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9775 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9776 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9777 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9781 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9782 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9783 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9784 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9785 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9786 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9787 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9788 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9789 other windows displayed next to it.
9791 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9795 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9796 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9799 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9800 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9801 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9802 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9803 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9804 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9805 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9809 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9812 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9822 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9827 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9828 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9830 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9832 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9838 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9839 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9840 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9843 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9844 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9845 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9846 (gnus-add-configuration
9850 (summary 0.75 point)
9855 @xref{Window Layout}.
9858 @node Mail Group Commands
9859 @section Mail Group Commands
9860 @cindex mail group commands
9862 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9863 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9865 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9866 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9871 @kindex B e (Summary)
9872 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9873 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9874 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9875 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9876 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9879 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9880 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9881 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9882 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9883 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9884 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9887 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9888 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9889 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9890 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9891 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9892 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9895 @kindex B m (Summary)
9897 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9898 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9899 Move the article from one mail group to another
9900 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9901 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9904 @kindex B c (Summary)
9906 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9907 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9908 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9909 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9910 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9913 @kindex B B (Summary)
9914 @cindex crosspost mail
9915 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9916 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9917 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9918 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9919 be properly updated.
9922 @kindex B i (Summary)
9923 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9924 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9925 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9926 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9929 @kindex B I (Summary)
9930 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9931 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9932 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9933 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9936 @kindex B r (Summary)
9937 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9938 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9939 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9940 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9941 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9942 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9943 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9944 (which is the default).
9948 @kindex B w (Summary)
9950 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9951 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9952 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9953 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9954 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9955 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9956 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9959 @kindex B q (Summary)
9960 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9961 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9962 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9963 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9966 @kindex B t (Summary)
9967 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9968 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9969 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9972 @kindex B p (Summary)
9973 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9974 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9975 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9976 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9977 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9978 article from your news server (or rather, from
9979 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9980 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9981 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9982 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9983 just not have arrived yet.
9986 @kindex K E (Summary)
9987 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9988 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9989 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9990 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9991 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9995 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9996 @cindex moving articles
9997 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9998 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9999 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10000 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10001 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10002 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10003 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10006 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10007 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10008 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10009 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10013 @node Various Summary Stuff
10014 @section Various Summary Stuff
10017 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10018 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10019 * Summary Generation Commands::
10020 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10024 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10025 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10026 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10027 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10028 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10029 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10031 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10032 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10033 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10035 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10036 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10037 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10038 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10039 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10040 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10043 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10044 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10045 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10046 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10047 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10049 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10050 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10051 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10054 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10055 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10056 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10057 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10058 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10059 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10060 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10061 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10062 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10063 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10065 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10066 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10067 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10068 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10069 list of articles to be selected.
10071 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10072 the list in one particular group:
10075 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10076 (if (string= group "some.group")
10077 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10081 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10082 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10083 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10084 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10085 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10086 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10087 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10088 other buffers. For example:
10091 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10092 '(message-use-followup-to
10093 (gnus-visible-headers .
10094 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10100 @node Summary Group Information
10101 @subsection Summary Group Information
10106 @kindex H f (Summary)
10107 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10108 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10109 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10110 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10111 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10112 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10113 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10114 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10115 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10118 @kindex H d (Summary)
10119 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10120 Give a brief description of the current group
10121 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10122 rereading the description from the server.
10125 @kindex H h (Summary)
10126 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10127 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10128 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10131 @kindex H i (Summary)
10132 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10133 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10137 @node Searching for Articles
10138 @subsection Searching for Articles
10143 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10144 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10145 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10146 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10149 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10150 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10151 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10152 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10155 @kindex & (Summary)
10156 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10157 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10158 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10159 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10160 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10161 search backward instead.
10163 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
10164 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10167 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10168 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10169 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10170 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10173 @node Summary Generation Commands
10174 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10179 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10180 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10181 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10184 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10185 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10186 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10187 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10190 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10191 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10192 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10193 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10198 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10199 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10205 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10206 @kindex A D (Summary)
10207 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10208 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10209 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10210 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10211 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10212 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10213 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10214 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10218 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10219 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10220 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10221 several documents into one biiig group
10222 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10223 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10224 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10225 command understands the process/prefix convention
10226 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10229 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10230 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10231 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10232 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10233 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10234 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10237 @kindex = (Summary)
10238 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10239 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10240 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10243 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10244 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10245 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10246 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10249 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10250 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10251 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10252 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10257 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10258 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10259 @cindex summary exit
10260 @cindex exiting groups
10262 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10263 group and return you to the group buffer.
10269 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10270 @kindex q (Summary)
10271 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10272 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10273 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10274 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10275 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10276 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10277 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10278 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10279 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10280 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10281 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10282 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10286 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10287 @kindex Q (Summary)
10288 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10289 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10290 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10294 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10295 @kindex c (Summary)
10296 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10297 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10298 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10299 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10302 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10303 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10304 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10305 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10308 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10309 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10310 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10311 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10314 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10315 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10316 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10317 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10318 all articles, both read and unread.
10322 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10323 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10324 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10325 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10326 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10327 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10328 articles, both read and unread.
10331 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10332 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10333 Exit the group and go to the next group
10334 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10337 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10338 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10339 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10340 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10343 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10344 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10345 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10346 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10347 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10348 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10351 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10352 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10353 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10354 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10356 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10357 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10358 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10359 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10360 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10361 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10362 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10363 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10364 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10365 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10366 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10367 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10369 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10371 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10372 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10373 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10374 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10375 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10376 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10377 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10378 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10379 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10382 @node Crosspost Handling
10383 @section Crosspost Handling
10387 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10388 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10389 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10390 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10391 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10392 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10395 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10396 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10397 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10398 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10399 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10401 @cindex cross-posting
10403 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10404 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10405 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10406 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10407 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10408 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10409 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10410 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10411 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10412 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10413 the cross reference mechanism.
10415 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10416 @cindex overview.fmt
10417 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10418 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10419 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10420 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10421 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10422 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10425 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10426 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10427 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10432 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10435 @node Duplicate Suppression
10436 @section Duplicate Suppression
10438 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10439 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10440 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10441 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10446 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10447 is evil and not very common.
10450 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10451 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10454 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10455 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10458 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10461 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10462 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10464 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10465 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10466 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10467 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10468 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10469 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10470 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10473 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10474 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10475 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10476 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10477 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10478 saw the article in.
10481 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10482 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10483 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10485 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10486 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10487 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10488 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10489 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10490 session are suppressed.
10492 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10493 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10494 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10495 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10497 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10498 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10499 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10500 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10503 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10504 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10505 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10506 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10507 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10508 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10509 to you to figure out, I think.
10514 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10515 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10516 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10521 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10522 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface
10523 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10524 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10527 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10528 or newer is recommended.
10532 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10533 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10536 @item mm-verify-option
10537 @vindex mm-verify-option
10538 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10539 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10540 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10542 @item mm-decrypt-option
10543 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10544 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10545 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10546 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10549 @vindex mml1991-use
10550 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10551 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10552 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10556 @vindex mml2015-use
10557 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10558 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10559 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10564 @cindex snarfing keys
10565 @cindex importing PGP keys
10566 @cindex PGP key ring import
10567 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10568 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10569 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10570 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10571 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10572 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10573 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10574 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10575 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10578 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10581 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10582 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10585 @section Mailing List
10587 @kindex A M (summary)
10588 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10589 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10590 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10591 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10594 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10599 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10600 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10601 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10604 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10605 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10606 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10609 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10610 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10611 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10615 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10616 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10617 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10620 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10621 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10622 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10625 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10626 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10627 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10632 @node Article Buffer
10633 @chapter Article Buffer
10634 @cindex article buffer
10636 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10637 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10638 tell gnus otherwise.
10641 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10642 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10643 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10644 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10645 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10649 @node Hiding Headers
10650 @section Hiding Headers
10651 @cindex hiding headers
10652 @cindex deleting headers
10654 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10655 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10657 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10658 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10659 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10660 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10661 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10662 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10663 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10664 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10665 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10667 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10671 @item gnus-visible-headers
10672 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10673 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10674 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10675 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10677 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10678 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10681 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10684 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10687 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10688 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10689 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10690 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10691 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10692 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10694 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10695 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10698 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10701 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10704 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10705 variable will have no effect.
10709 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10710 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10711 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10712 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10713 the headers are to be displayed.
10715 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10716 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10719 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10722 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10723 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10725 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10726 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10727 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10728 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10729 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10730 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10731 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10734 These conditions are:
10737 Remove all empty headers.
10739 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10740 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10742 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10743 @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter is
10746 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10749 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10750 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10752 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10753 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10755 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10756 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10758 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10761 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10763 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10766 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10769 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10770 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10773 This is also the default value for this variable.
10777 @section Using MIME
10778 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10780 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10781 while people stand around yawning.
10783 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10784 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10786 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10787 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10788 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10790 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10791 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10792 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10793 gnus handles @acronym{MIME} by pushing the articles through
10794 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10795 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10796 calls the @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For
10797 more information on @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View, see its manual page
10798 (however it is not existed yet, sorry).
10800 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10801 @acronym{MIME} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set,
10802 then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10803 These can't be avoided.
10805 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10806 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10807 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10808 @acronym{MIME} has decoded the sound file in the article and some
10809 horrible sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you
10810 can't find the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are
10811 starting to look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't,
10812 and you can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else
10813 in the room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll
10814 feel rather stupid.)
10816 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10818 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10819 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10820 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10821 buffer when there are nobody else.
10823 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10826 @node Customizing Articles
10827 @section Customizing Articles
10828 @cindex article customization
10830 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10831 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10832 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10833 called automatically when you select the articles.
10835 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10836 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10837 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10838 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10840 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10841 for sensible values.
10845 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10848 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10851 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10854 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10857 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10861 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10862 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10863 regexps in the list.
10866 A list where the first element is not a string:
10868 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10869 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10870 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10874 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10878 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10883 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10884 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
10885 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10886 considered to contain just a single part.
10888 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10889 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10890 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10891 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10892 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10893 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10894 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10896 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10897 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10898 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10899 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10902 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10903 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10905 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10907 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10908 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10909 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10910 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10911 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10912 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10913 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10914 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10915 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10916 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10917 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10919 @xref{Article Washing}.
10921 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10922 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10923 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10924 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10925 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10926 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10927 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10929 @xref{Article Date}.
10931 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10932 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10933 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10937 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10939 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10941 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10942 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10943 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10947 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10951 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10952 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10953 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10954 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10955 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10956 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10957 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10958 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10959 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
10960 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
10962 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10964 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10965 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10966 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10968 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10970 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10971 @item gnus-treat-translate
10972 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10974 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10975 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10976 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10977 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10979 @xref{Article Header}.
10984 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10985 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10986 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10987 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10988 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10992 @node Article Keymap
10993 @section Article Keymap
10995 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10996 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10997 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10998 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11001 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11006 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11007 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11008 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11009 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11012 @kindex DEL (Article)
11013 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11014 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11015 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11018 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11019 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11020 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11021 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11022 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11025 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11026 @findex gnus-article-mail
11027 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11028 given a prefix, include the mail.
11031 @kindex s (Article)
11032 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11033 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11034 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11037 @kindex ? (Article)
11038 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11039 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11040 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11043 @kindex TAB (Article)
11044 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11045 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11046 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11049 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11050 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11051 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11054 @kindex R (Article)
11055 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11056 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11057 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11058 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11062 @kindex F (Article)
11063 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11064 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11065 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11066 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11074 @section Misc Article
11078 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11079 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11080 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11081 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11084 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11085 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11087 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11088 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11090 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11091 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11092 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11093 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11094 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11095 the contents of the article buffer.
11097 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11098 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11099 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11101 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11102 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11103 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11104 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11106 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11107 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11108 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11109 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11111 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11112 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11113 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11114 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11115 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11121 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11122 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11123 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11128 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11131 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11134 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11135 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11136 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11139 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11142 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11145 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11150 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11154 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11156 @item gnus-break-pages
11157 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11158 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11159 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11160 paging will not be done.
11162 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11163 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11164 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11168 @cindex internationalized domain names
11169 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11170 @item gnus-use-idna
11171 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11172 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11173 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11174 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11175 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11180 @node Composing Messages
11181 @chapter Composing Messages
11182 @cindex composing messages
11185 @cindex sending mail
11190 @cindex using s/mime
11191 @cindex using smime
11193 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11194 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11195 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11196 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11197 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11198 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11201 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11202 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11203 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11204 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11205 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11206 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11207 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11208 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11211 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11212 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11218 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11221 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11222 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11223 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11224 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11225 @code{nil} include all headers.
11227 @item gnus-add-to-list
11228 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11229 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11230 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11232 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11233 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11234 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11235 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11236 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11237 confirmation is should be asked for.
11239 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11240 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11242 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11243 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11244 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11245 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11246 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11251 @node Posting Server
11252 @section Posting Server
11254 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11255 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11257 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11259 It can be quite complicated.
11261 @vindex gnus-post-method
11262 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11263 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11264 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11265 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11266 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11267 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11268 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11269 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11270 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11273 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11276 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11277 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11278 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11279 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11281 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11282 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11284 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11285 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11288 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11289 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11291 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11292 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11293 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11294 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11295 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11296 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11297 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11298 package correctly. An example:
11301 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11302 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11303 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11304 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11305 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11308 To the thing similar to this, there is
11309 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11310 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11311 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11313 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11314 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11315 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11317 @node Mail and Post
11318 @section Mail and Post
11320 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11324 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11325 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11326 @cindex mailing lists
11328 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11329 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11330 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11331 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11332 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11333 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11334 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11335 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11336 still a pain, though.
11338 @item gnus-user-agent
11339 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11342 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11343 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11344 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11345 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11346 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11347 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11348 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11352 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11353 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11354 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11357 @findex ispell-message
11359 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11362 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11363 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11366 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11370 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11371 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11373 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11376 Modify to suit your needs.
11379 @node Archived Messages
11380 @section Archived Messages
11381 @cindex archived messages
11382 @cindex sent messages
11384 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11385 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11386 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11387 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11390 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11391 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11394 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11395 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11396 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11399 (nnfolder "archive"
11400 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11401 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11402 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11403 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11406 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11407 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11408 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11409 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11412 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11413 '(nnfolder "archive"
11414 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11415 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11416 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11419 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11421 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11422 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11423 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11425 This variable can be used to do the following:
11430 Messages will be saved in that group.
11432 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11433 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11434 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11435 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11436 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11437 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11438 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11439 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11443 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11445 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11446 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11449 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11454 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11456 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11459 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11461 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11464 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11466 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11467 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11468 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11469 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11472 More complex stuff:
11474 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11475 '((if (message-news-p)
11480 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11481 messages in one file per month:
11484 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11485 '((if (message-news-p)
11487 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11490 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11491 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11493 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11494 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11495 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11496 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11497 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11498 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11499 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11500 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11501 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11502 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11504 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11505 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11506 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11507 this will disable archiving.
11510 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11511 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11512 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11513 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11514 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11517 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11518 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11519 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11522 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11523 but the latter is the preferred method.
11525 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11526 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11527 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11529 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11530 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11531 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11532 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11533 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11534 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11535 changed in the future.
11540 @node Posting Styles
11541 @section Posting Styles
11542 @cindex posting styles
11545 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11547 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11548 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11549 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11552 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11553 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11554 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11555 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11556 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11561 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11562 (organization "What me?"))
11564 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11565 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11566 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11569 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11570 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11571 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11572 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11573 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11574 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11575 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11576 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11578 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11579 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11580 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11581 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11582 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11583 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11584 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11585 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11586 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11587 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11588 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11589 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11590 said to @dfn{match}.
11592 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11593 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11594 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11595 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11596 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11597 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11598 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11599 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11600 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11601 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11604 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11605 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11606 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11607 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11608 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11609 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11610 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11611 references chars lines xref extra.
11613 @vindex message-reply-headers
11615 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11616 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11617 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11619 @findex message-mail-p
11620 @findex message-news-p
11622 So here's a new example:
11625 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11627 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11629 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11630 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11632 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11633 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11634 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11635 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11636 (signature my-news-signature))
11637 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11638 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11639 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11640 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11641 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11642 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11643 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11644 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11645 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11646 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11648 (From (save-excursion
11649 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11650 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11652 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11655 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11656 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11657 if you fill many roles.
11659 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11660 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11661 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11662 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11663 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11664 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11665 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11666 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11671 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11673 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11675 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11676 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11679 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11682 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11683 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11690 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11691 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11692 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11693 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11694 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11696 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11697 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11698 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11699 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11700 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11704 @vindex nndraft-directory
11705 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11706 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11707 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11708 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11709 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11710 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11712 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11713 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11714 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11715 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11716 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11717 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11718 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11719 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11720 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11722 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11723 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11724 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11725 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11726 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11727 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11728 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11729 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11730 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11731 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11732 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11733 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11734 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11735 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11737 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11738 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11739 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11741 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11742 @kindex D e (Draft)
11743 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11744 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11745 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11747 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11750 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11751 @kindex D s (Draft)
11752 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11753 @kindex D S (Draft)
11754 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11755 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11756 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11757 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11758 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11761 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11762 @kindex D t (Draft)
11763 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11764 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11765 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11768 @node Rejected Articles
11769 @section Rejected Articles
11770 @cindex rejected articles
11772 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11773 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11774 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11775 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11777 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11778 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11779 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11780 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11781 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11783 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11784 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11785 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11787 @node Signing and encrypting
11788 @section Signing and encrypting
11790 @cindex using s/mime
11791 @cindex using smime
11793 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11794 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11795 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11796 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11798 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11799 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11800 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11801 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11802 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11803 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11804 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11805 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11806 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11807 automatically encrypted messages.
11809 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
11810 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11811 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11816 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11817 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11819 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11822 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11823 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11825 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11828 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11829 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11831 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11834 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11835 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11837 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11840 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11841 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11843 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11846 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11847 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11849 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11852 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11853 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11854 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11858 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11860 @node Select Methods
11861 @chapter Select Methods
11862 @cindex foreign groups
11863 @cindex select methods
11865 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11866 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11867 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11868 personal mail group.
11870 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11871 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11872 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11873 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11874 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11875 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11877 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11878 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11880 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11883 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
11884 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11885 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11886 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11887 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11889 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11892 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11893 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11894 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11895 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11896 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
11897 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11898 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11899 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11903 @node Server Buffer
11904 @section Server Buffer
11906 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11907 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11908 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11909 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11910 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11911 back end represents a virtual server.
11913 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11914 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11915 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11916 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11918 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11919 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11920 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11921 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11922 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11923 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11924 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11926 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11927 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11930 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11931 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11932 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11933 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11934 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11935 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11936 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11939 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11940 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11943 @node Server Buffer Format
11944 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11945 @cindex server buffer format
11947 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11948 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11949 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11950 variable, with some simple extensions:
11955 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11958 The name of this server.
11961 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11964 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11967 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11968 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11969 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11970 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11980 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11983 @node Server Commands
11984 @subsection Server Commands
11985 @cindex server commands
11991 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11992 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11996 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11997 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12000 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12001 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12002 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12006 @findex gnus-server-exit
12007 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12011 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12012 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12016 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12017 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12021 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12022 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12026 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12027 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12031 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12032 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12033 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12038 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12039 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12040 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12041 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12046 @node Example Methods
12047 @subsection Example Methods
12049 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12052 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12055 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12061 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12062 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12065 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12066 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12068 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12069 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12073 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12076 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12077 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12079 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12080 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12081 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12085 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12088 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12091 Here's the method for a public spool:
12095 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12096 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12102 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12103 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12104 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12105 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12106 should probably look something like this:
12110 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12111 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12112 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12113 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12116 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12117 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12118 configuration to the example above:
12121 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12124 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12126 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12127 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12128 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12132 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12133 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12134 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12135 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12138 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12139 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12140 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12141 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12144 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12145 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12147 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12148 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12150 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12151 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
12152 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12154 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
12156 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
12157 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12158 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12159 will contain the following:
12169 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
12170 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
12171 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12174 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12175 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12176 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12179 @node Server Variables
12180 @subsection Server Variables
12181 @cindex server variables
12182 @cindex server parameters
12184 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12185 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12186 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12187 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12188 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12190 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12191 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12192 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12193 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12194 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12195 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12196 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12197 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12198 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12202 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12203 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12204 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12207 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12209 @node Servers and Methods
12210 @subsection Servers and Methods
12212 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12213 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12214 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12215 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12219 @node Unavailable Servers
12220 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12222 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12223 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12224 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12225 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12226 actually the case or not.
12228 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12229 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12230 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12231 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12232 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12233 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12234 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12235 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12237 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12238 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12240 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12241 with the following commands:
12247 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12248 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12249 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12253 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12254 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12255 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12259 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12260 Mark the current server as unreachable
12261 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12264 @kindex M-o (Server)
12265 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12266 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12267 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12270 @kindex M-c (Server)
12271 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12272 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12273 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12277 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12278 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12279 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12283 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12284 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12290 @section Getting News
12291 @cindex reading news
12292 @cindex news back ends
12294 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12295 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12296 or it can read from a local spool.
12299 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12300 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12308 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12309 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12310 server as the, uhm, address.
12312 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12313 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12314 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12315 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12317 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12318 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12319 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12321 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12326 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12327 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12328 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12330 @cindex authentification
12331 @cindex nntp authentification
12332 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12333 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12334 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12335 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12336 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12337 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12338 present in this hook.
12340 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12341 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12342 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12343 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12344 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12345 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12346 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12347 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12348 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12349 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12350 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12351 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12355 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12358 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12360 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12361 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12362 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12363 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12364 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12365 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12366 @samp{force} is explained below.
12370 Here's an example file:
12373 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12374 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12377 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12378 have to be first, for instance.
12380 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12381 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12382 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12383 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12384 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12385 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12386 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12388 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12389 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12395 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12396 previously mentioned.
12398 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12400 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12401 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12402 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12403 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12404 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12407 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12408 '(("innd" (ding))))
12411 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12413 The default value is
12416 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12417 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12418 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12421 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12422 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12424 @item nntp-maximum-request
12425 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12426 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12427 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12428 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12429 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12430 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12431 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12433 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12434 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12435 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12436 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12437 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12438 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12439 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12440 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12441 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12442 no timeouts are done.
12444 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12445 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12446 @c @cindex PPP connections
12447 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12448 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12449 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12450 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12451 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12452 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12453 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12454 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12455 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12456 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12458 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12459 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12460 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12461 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12462 @c described above.
12464 @item nntp-server-hook
12465 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12466 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12469 @item nntp-buggy-select
12470 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12471 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12473 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12474 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12475 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12476 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12479 @item nntp-xover-commands
12480 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12483 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12484 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12488 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12489 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12490 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12491 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12492 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12493 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12494 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12495 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12496 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12497 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12498 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12500 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12501 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12502 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12504 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12505 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12506 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12507 server closes connection.
12509 @item nntp-record-commands
12510 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12511 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12512 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12513 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12514 that doesn't seem to work.
12516 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12517 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12518 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12519 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12520 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12521 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12522 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12523 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12525 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12526 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12527 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12528 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12529 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12530 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12531 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12534 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12537 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12538 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12540 @item nntp-read-timeout
12541 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12542 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12543 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12544 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12545 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12548 @item nntp-list-options
12549 @vindex nntp-list-options
12550 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12551 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12552 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12553 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12554 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12558 (setq gnus-select-method
12559 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12560 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12563 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12564 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12565 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12566 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12567 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12568 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12569 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12572 (setq gnus-select-method
12573 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12574 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12577 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12578 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12579 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12580 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12581 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12582 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12583 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12586 (setq gnus-select-method
12587 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12588 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12593 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12594 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12595 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12599 @node Direct Functions
12600 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12601 @cindex direct connection functions
12603 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12604 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12605 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12606 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12609 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12610 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12611 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12614 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12615 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12616 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12617 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12618 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12621 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12622 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12624 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12625 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12626 (nntp-port-number )
12627 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12630 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12631 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12632 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12633 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12634 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12635 then define a server as follows:
12638 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12639 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12641 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12642 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12643 (nntp-port-number 563)
12644 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12647 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12648 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12649 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12650 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12651 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12652 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12653 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12654 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12658 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12659 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12660 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12663 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12664 session, which is not a good idea.
12668 @node Indirect Functions
12669 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12670 @cindex indirect connection functions
12672 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12673 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12674 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12675 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12676 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12677 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12680 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12681 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12682 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12683 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12684 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12686 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12689 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12690 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12691 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12692 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12694 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12695 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12696 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12697 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12698 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12699 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12700 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12701 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12705 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12706 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12707 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12708 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12710 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12713 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12714 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12715 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12718 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12719 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12720 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12721 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12723 @item nntp-via-user-password
12724 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12725 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12727 @item nntp-via-envuser
12728 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12729 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12730 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12731 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12733 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12734 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12735 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12736 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12743 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12748 @item nntp-via-user-name
12749 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12750 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12752 @item nntp-via-address
12753 @vindex nntp-via-address
12754 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12759 @node Common Variables
12760 @subsubsection Common Variables
12762 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12763 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12768 @item nntp-pre-command
12769 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12770 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12771 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12772 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12773 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12776 @vindex nntp-address
12777 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12779 @item nntp-port-number
12780 @vindex nntp-port-number
12781 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12782 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12783 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12784 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12785 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12786 not work with named ports.
12788 @item nntp-end-of-line
12789 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12790 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12791 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12792 using a non native connection function.
12794 @item nntp-telnet-command
12795 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12796 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12797 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12798 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12801 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12802 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12803 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12810 @subsection News Spool
12814 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12815 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12816 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12819 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12820 anything else) as the address.
12822 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12823 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12824 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12825 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12829 @item nnspool-inews-program
12830 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12831 Program used to post an article.
12833 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12834 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12835 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12837 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12838 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12839 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12840 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12842 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12843 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12844 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
12845 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12847 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12848 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12849 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12851 @item nnspool-active-file
12852 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12853 The name of the active file.
12855 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12856 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12857 The name of the group descriptions file.
12859 @item nnspool-history-file
12860 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12861 The name of the news history file.
12863 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12864 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12865 The name of the active date file.
12867 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12868 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12869 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12872 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12873 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12875 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12876 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12877 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
12884 @section Getting Mail
12885 @cindex reading mail
12888 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12892 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12893 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12894 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12895 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12896 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12897 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12898 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12899 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12900 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12901 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12902 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12903 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12904 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12908 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12909 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12911 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12912 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12913 of a culture shock.
12915 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12916 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12918 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12919 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12920 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12921 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12923 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12925 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12926 deleted? How awful!
12928 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12929 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12930 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12931 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12934 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12935 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12936 they want to treat a message.
12938 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12939 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12940 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12941 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12942 archived somewhere else.
12944 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12945 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12946 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12947 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12948 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12950 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12951 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12952 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12954 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12955 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12958 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12959 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12960 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12961 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12962 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12964 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12965 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12966 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12967 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12968 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12969 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12973 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12974 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12976 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12977 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12978 and things will happen automatically.
12980 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
12981 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12984 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12987 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12988 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12989 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12990 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12991 like any other group.
12993 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12996 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12997 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12998 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13002 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13003 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13004 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13007 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13008 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13009 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13012 @node Splitting Mail
13013 @subsection Splitting Mail
13014 @cindex splitting mail
13015 @cindex mail splitting
13017 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13018 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13019 to be split into groups.
13022 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13023 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13024 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13025 ("mail.other" "")))
13028 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13029 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13030 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13031 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13032 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13033 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13034 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13037 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13040 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13041 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13042 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13043 mail belongs in that group.
13045 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13046 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13047 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13048 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13049 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13050 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13052 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13053 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13054 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13055 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13056 thinks should carry this mail message.
13058 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13059 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13060 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13061 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13063 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13064 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13065 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13066 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13067 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13069 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13072 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13073 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13074 links. If that's the case for you, set
13075 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13076 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13078 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13079 @kindex nnmail-split-history
13080 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13081 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13082 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13083 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13086 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13087 Header lines longer than the value of
13088 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13091 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13092 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13093 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13094 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13095 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13096 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13097 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13098 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13100 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13101 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13102 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13103 @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then splitting does
13104 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13105 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13106 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13107 other kinds of entries.)
13109 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13110 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13111 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13112 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13113 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13114 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13115 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13116 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13117 month's rent money.
13121 @subsection Mail Sources
13123 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13124 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13125 maildir, for instance.
13128 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13129 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13130 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13134 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13135 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13137 @cindex mail server
13140 @cindex mail source
13142 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13143 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13148 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13151 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13152 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13153 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13156 The following mail source types are available:
13160 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13166 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13167 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13168 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13172 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13175 An example file mail source:
13178 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13181 Or using the default file name:
13187 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13188 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13189 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13190 mail spool while moving the mail.
13192 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13196 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13199 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13203 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13206 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13208 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13211 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13215 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13216 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13217 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13218 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13219 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13220 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13221 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13222 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13223 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13224 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13226 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13227 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13228 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13229 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13235 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13239 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13243 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13244 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13245 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13246 predicate are considered.
13250 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13254 An example directory mail source:
13257 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13262 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13268 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13269 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13272 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13273 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13274 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13275 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13276 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13279 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13283 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13284 the user is prompted.
13287 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13288 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13291 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13294 The valid format specifier characters are:
13298 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13299 included in this string.
13302 The name of the server.
13305 The port number of the server.
13308 The user name to use.
13311 The password to use.
13314 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13315 corresponding keywords.
13318 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13319 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13322 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13323 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13326 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13327 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13328 mail should be moved to.
13330 @item :authentication
13331 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13332 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13336 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13337 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13338 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13339 programs and libraries:
13343 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13344 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13345 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13347 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13348 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13353 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13354 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13358 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13359 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13361 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13362 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13368 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13371 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13372 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13375 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13378 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13382 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13383 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13384 contains exactly one mail.
13390 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13391 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13394 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13395 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13397 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13398 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13399 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13402 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13403 from locking problems).
13407 Two example maildir mail sources:
13410 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13411 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13415 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13420 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13421 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13422 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13423 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13424 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13426 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13427 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13433 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13434 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13437 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13438 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13441 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13445 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13449 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13450 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13451 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13452 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13454 @item :authentication
13455 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13456 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13457 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13458 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13461 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13462 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13463 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13469 The valid format specifier characters are:
13473 The name of the server.
13476 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13479 The port number of the server.
13482 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13483 corresponding keywords.
13486 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13487 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13490 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13491 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13492 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13493 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13494 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13495 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13498 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13499 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13500 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13501 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13504 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13505 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13509 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13512 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13514 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13518 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13519 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13520 @uref{mail.yahoo.com}.
13522 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13523 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13525 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13531 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13532 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13535 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13539 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13543 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13544 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13548 An example webmail source:
13551 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13553 :password "secret")
13558 @item Common Keywords
13559 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13565 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13566 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13571 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13576 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13577 useful when you use local mail and news.
13582 @subsubsection Function Interface
13584 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13585 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13586 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13587 consider the following mail-source setting:
13590 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13591 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13594 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13595 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13596 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13597 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13598 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13600 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13603 @node Mail Source Customization
13604 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13606 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13607 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13611 @item mail-source-crash-box
13612 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13613 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13614 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13616 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13617 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13618 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13619 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13620 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13621 (This will only happen, when reveiving new mail). You may also set
13622 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13623 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13625 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13626 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13627 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13628 files. This variable only applies when
13629 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13631 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13632 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13633 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13635 @item mail-source-directory
13636 @vindex mail-source-directory
13637 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13638 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13639 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13642 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13643 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13644 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13645 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13646 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13647 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13649 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13650 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13651 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13653 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13654 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13655 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13656 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13661 @node Fetching Mail
13662 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13664 @vindex mail-sources
13665 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13666 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13667 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13668 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13670 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13671 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13674 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13675 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13680 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13681 :password "secret")))
13684 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13688 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13689 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13692 :password "secret")))
13696 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13697 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13698 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13699 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13700 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13701 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13705 @node Mail Back End Variables
13706 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13708 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13712 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13713 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13714 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13715 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13717 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13718 @item nnmail-split-hook
13719 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13720 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13721 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13722 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13723 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13724 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13725 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13726 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13727 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13730 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13731 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13732 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13733 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13734 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13735 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13736 starting to handle the new mail) and
13737 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13738 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13739 default file modes the new mail files get:
13742 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13743 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13745 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13746 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13749 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13750 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13751 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13752 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13753 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13754 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13755 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13757 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13758 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13759 @findex delete-file
13760 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13762 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13763 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13764 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13765 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13766 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13768 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13769 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13770 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13771 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13772 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13774 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13775 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13776 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13781 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13782 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13783 @cindex mail splitting
13784 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13786 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13787 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13788 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13789 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13790 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13791 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13793 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13796 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13797 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13798 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13799 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13801 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13802 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13803 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13804 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13805 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13806 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13807 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13808 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13809 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13810 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13811 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13812 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13813 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13814 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13815 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13816 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13817 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13821 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13822 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13823 the five possible split syntaxes:
13828 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13829 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13833 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13834 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13835 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13836 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13837 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13838 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13839 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13840 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13843 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13844 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13845 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13846 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13849 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13850 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13853 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13854 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13857 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13858 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13859 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13860 function should return a @var{split}.
13863 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13864 body of the messages:
13867 (defun split-on-body ()
13869 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13870 (goto-char (point-min))
13871 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13875 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13876 when the @code{:} function is run.
13879 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the
13880 first element is @code{!}, then @var{split} will be processed, and
13881 @var{func} will be called as a function with the result of @var{split}
13882 as argument. @var{func} should return a split.
13885 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13889 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13890 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13891 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13892 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13893 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13895 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13896 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13897 are expanded as specified by the variable
13898 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13899 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13902 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13903 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13904 when all this splitting is performed.
13906 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13907 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13908 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13911 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13914 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13915 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13917 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13918 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13919 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13920 groupings 1 through 9.
13922 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13923 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13924 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13925 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13926 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13927 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13928 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13929 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13930 it once per thread.
13932 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
13933 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
13934 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
13935 using the colon feature, like so:
13937 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
13938 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13940 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13941 ;; @r{other splits go here}
13945 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13946 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
13947 in the file specified by the variable
13948 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
13949 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
13950 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
13951 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
13952 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
13953 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
13954 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
13955 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
13956 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
13957 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
13958 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
13959 300 kBytes in size.)
13960 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13961 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13962 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13963 messages goes into the new group.
13965 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13966 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13967 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13968 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13969 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13973 @node Group Mail Splitting
13974 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13975 @cindex mail splitting
13976 @cindex group mail splitting
13978 @findex gnus-group-split
13979 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13980 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13981 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13982 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13983 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13984 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13985 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13986 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13988 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13989 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13990 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13991 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13993 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13994 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13995 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13996 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13997 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13998 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13999 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14001 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14002 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14003 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14004 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14005 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
14006 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14007 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14009 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14010 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14011 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14012 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14013 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14014 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14015 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14016 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14017 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14018 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14019 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14020 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14021 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14023 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14028 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14029 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14031 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14032 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14033 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14034 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14036 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14039 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14040 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14041 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14044 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14045 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14046 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14050 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14051 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14052 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14056 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14059 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14060 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14061 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14062 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
14063 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14064 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
14065 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14066 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14067 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14069 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14070 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14071 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14072 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14073 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14074 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14075 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14076 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14077 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14079 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14080 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14081 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14082 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14083 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14084 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14087 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14090 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14091 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14092 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14093 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14094 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14097 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14098 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14099 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14100 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14102 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14103 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14104 @cindex incorporating old mail
14105 @cindex import old mail
14107 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14108 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14109 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14112 Doing so can be quite easy.
14114 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14115 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14116 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14117 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14118 your @code{nnml} groups.
14124 Go to the group buffer.
14127 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14128 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14131 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14134 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14135 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14138 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14139 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14142 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14143 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14144 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14145 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14146 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14148 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14149 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14150 using the new mail back end.
14153 @node Expiring Mail
14154 @subsection Expiring Mail
14155 @cindex article expiry
14157 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14158 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14159 different approach to mail reading.
14161 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14162 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14163 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14164 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14165 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14166 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14169 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14170 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
14171 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14172 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14173 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14174 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14175 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14176 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14177 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14179 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14180 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
14181 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14182 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
14183 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14184 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14185 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14188 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14189 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14190 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14191 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14192 into its own group.)
14194 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14195 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14196 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14197 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14198 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14199 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14200 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
14201 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14204 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14205 Groups that match the regular expression
14206 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14207 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14208 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14210 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14211 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14212 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14213 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14214 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14216 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14218 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14219 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14220 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14223 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14224 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14225 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14226 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14227 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14229 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14230 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14233 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14234 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14237 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14238 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14240 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14241 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14242 don't really mix very well.
14244 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14245 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14246 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14247 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14250 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14251 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14252 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14253 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14256 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14258 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14260 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14262 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14264 ((string= group "important")
14270 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14271 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14273 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14274 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14275 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14278 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14279 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14281 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14282 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14283 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14284 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14285 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14286 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14287 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14288 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14289 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14290 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14291 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14292 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14293 name or @code{delete}.
14295 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14297 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14300 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14301 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14302 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14303 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14304 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14307 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14308 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14309 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14310 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14311 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14314 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14315 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14316 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14317 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14318 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14319 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14321 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14322 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14323 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14324 easier for procmail users.
14326 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14327 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14328 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14329 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14330 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14331 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14332 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14333 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14334 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14335 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14336 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14337 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14338 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14341 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14343 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14344 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14345 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14346 auto-expire turned on.
14350 @subsection Washing Mail
14351 @cindex mail washing
14352 @cindex list server brain damage
14353 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14355 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14356 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14357 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14358 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14359 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14360 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14362 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14363 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14364 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14367 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14368 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14369 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14370 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14373 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14374 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14375 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14376 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14377 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14380 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14381 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14382 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14383 Emacs running on MS machines.
14387 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14388 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14389 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14390 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14393 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14394 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14395 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14396 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14398 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14399 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14400 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14401 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14402 into a feature by documenting it.)
14404 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14405 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14406 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14407 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14408 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14409 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14410 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14413 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14414 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14417 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14418 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14421 This can also be done non-destructively with
14422 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14424 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14425 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14426 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14428 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14429 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14431 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14432 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14433 @code{References} headers.
14437 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14438 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14439 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14443 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14444 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14445 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14452 @subsection Duplicates
14454 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14455 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14456 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14457 @cindex duplicate mails
14458 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14459 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14460 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14461 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14462 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14463 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14464 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14465 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14466 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14467 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14468 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14469 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14470 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14472 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14473 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14474 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14475 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14477 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14480 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14481 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14485 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14486 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14487 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14488 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14489 (any mail "mail.misc")
14490 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14496 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14497 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14498 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14502 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14503 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14504 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14505 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14506 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14509 @node Not Reading Mail
14510 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14512 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14513 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14514 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14516 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14517 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14518 mail, which should help.
14520 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14521 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14522 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14523 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14524 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14525 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14526 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14527 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14528 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14529 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14530 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14532 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14533 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14537 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14538 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14540 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14541 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14542 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14544 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14545 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14546 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14550 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14551 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14552 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14553 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14554 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14555 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14556 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14560 @node Unix Mail Box
14561 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14563 @cindex unix mail box
14565 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14566 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14567 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14568 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14569 which group it belongs in.
14571 Virtual server settings:
14574 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14575 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14576 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14579 @item nnmbox-active-file
14580 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14581 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14582 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14584 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14585 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14586 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14587 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14592 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14596 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14597 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14598 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14599 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14600 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14602 Virtual server settings:
14605 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14606 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14607 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14609 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14610 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14611 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14612 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14614 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14615 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14616 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14622 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14624 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14626 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14627 format. It should be used with some caution.
14629 @vindex nnml-directory
14630 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14631 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14632 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14633 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14635 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14638 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14639 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14640 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14641 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14642 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14643 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14644 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14645 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14647 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14648 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14649 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14650 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14652 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14654 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14655 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14656 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14657 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14658 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14659 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14660 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14661 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14664 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14665 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14666 them next time it starts.
14668 Virtual server settings:
14671 @item nnml-directory
14672 @vindex nnml-directory
14673 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14674 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14677 @item nnml-active-file
14678 @vindex nnml-active-file
14679 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14680 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14682 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14683 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14684 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14685 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14687 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14688 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14689 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14692 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14693 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14694 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14695 default is @code{nil}.
14697 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14698 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14699 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14701 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14702 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14703 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14705 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14706 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14707 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14708 default is @code{nil}.
14710 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14711 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14712 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14714 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14715 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14716 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14721 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14722 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of whack,
14723 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14724 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14725 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14726 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14727 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14732 @subsubsection MH Spool
14734 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14736 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14737 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14738 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14739 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14741 Virtual server settings:
14744 @item nnmh-directory
14745 @vindex nnmh-directory
14746 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14747 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14750 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14751 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14752 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14756 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14757 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14758 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14759 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14760 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14761 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14762 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14767 @subsubsection Maildir
14771 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14772 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14773 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14774 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14775 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14778 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14779 reading, without needing locks. With other backends, you would have
14780 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14781 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14782 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14783 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14786 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14787 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14788 data in the filesystem.
14790 nnmaildir stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each maildir. So you
14791 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14794 Virtual server settings:
14798 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14799 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14800 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14801 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14802 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14803 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14804 starting with `.' are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14805 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14806 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14809 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14810 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14811 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14812 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14813 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14814 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14815 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14816 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14817 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14818 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14820 @item target-prefix
14821 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14822 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14823 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14826 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14827 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14828 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14829 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14830 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14831 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14832 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14833 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14834 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14836 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14837 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14838 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14839 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14840 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14842 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14843 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14844 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14845 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14846 @code{force} argument.
14848 @item directory-files
14849 This should be a function with the same interface as
14850 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14851 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14852 parameter is optional; the default is
14853 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14854 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14855 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14856 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14857 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14858 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14861 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14862 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14863 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14864 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14865 value is @code{nil}.
14867 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14868 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14869 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14870 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14871 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14874 @subsubsection Group parameters
14876 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14877 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14878 behavior for other mail backends: articles are deleted after one week,
14879 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14880 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14881 duplicate the behavior you already have with another backend.
14883 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14884 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14885 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14886 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14887 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14888 backends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14889 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14890 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14891 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14895 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
14896 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
14897 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
14898 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
14899 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overridable by
14900 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
14901 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
14902 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
14903 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
14904 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
14905 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
14906 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
14909 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
14911 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
14913 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
14914 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
14915 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
14916 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
14917 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
14918 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
14919 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
14920 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
14921 article. So that form can refer to
14922 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
14923 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, nnmaildir does not fall
14924 back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
14925 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
14928 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
14929 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
14930 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
14931 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
14932 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
14933 directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
14934 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
14935 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
14936 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
14937 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
14938 extra copies of the articles.
14940 @item directory-files
14941 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
14942 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
14943 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
14944 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
14946 @item distrust-Lines:
14947 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
14948 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
14949 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
14952 A list of mark symbols, such as
14953 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
14954 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
14955 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
14956 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
14957 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14958 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14961 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
14962 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
14963 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
14964 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
14965 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
14966 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14967 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14969 @item nov-cache-size
14970 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To speed
14971 things up, nnmaildir keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory for a limited number of
14972 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
14973 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
14974 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened---i.e.,
14975 when you first start Gnus, typically. The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized
14976 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
14977 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
14978 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
14979 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
14982 @subsubsection Article identification
14983 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
14984 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
14985 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
14986 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
14987 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
14988 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
14989 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
14990 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
14991 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
14992 request the article in the summary buffer.
14994 @subsubsection NOV data
14995 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used to
14996 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
14997 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
14998 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
14999 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically when the
15000 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
15001 nnmaildir to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a single article simply by
15002 deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV} file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
15003 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
15004 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15006 @subsubsection Article marks
15007 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15008 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15009 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
15010 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
15011 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
15012 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
15013 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
15014 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15016 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15017 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15018 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15019 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15020 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
15021 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
15022 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
15023 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
15024 changes, and might undo them.
15028 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15030 @cindex mbox folders
15031 @cindex mail folders
15033 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
15034 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
15035 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
15038 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15040 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15041 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15042 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15043 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15044 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15045 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15046 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
15047 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
15048 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
15049 @code{nnfolder} directory).
15051 Virtual server settings:
15054 @item nnfolder-directory
15055 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15056 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
15057 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15060 @item nnfolder-active-file
15061 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15062 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15064 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15065 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15066 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15067 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15069 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15070 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15071 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
15074 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15075 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15076 @cindex backup files
15077 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15078 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
15079 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
15080 your @file{.emacs} file:
15083 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15084 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15086 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15089 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15090 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15091 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15092 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15093 extract some information from it before removing it.
15095 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15096 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15097 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15098 default is @code{nil}.
15100 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15101 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15102 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15104 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15105 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15106 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15107 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15109 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15110 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15111 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15112 default is @code{nil}.
15114 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15115 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15116 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15118 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15119 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15120 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15121 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15126 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15127 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15128 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15129 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15130 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15131 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15134 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15135 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15137 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15138 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15139 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15140 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15141 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15143 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15144 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15145 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15146 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15147 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15148 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15149 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15150 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15153 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15154 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15155 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15156 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15161 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15162 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15163 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15164 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15165 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15166 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15167 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15168 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15169 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15170 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15171 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15172 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15173 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15178 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15179 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15180 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15181 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15182 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15183 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15184 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15185 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15186 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15187 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15188 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15189 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15190 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15191 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15193 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15194 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15199 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15200 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15201 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15202 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15203 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15204 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15205 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15206 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15207 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15208 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15209 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15210 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15211 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15212 provided by the active file and overviews.
15214 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15215 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15216 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15217 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15218 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15221 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15222 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15227 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15228 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15229 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15230 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15231 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15232 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15233 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15237 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15238 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15239 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15240 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15241 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15242 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15243 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15244 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15245 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15247 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15248 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15249 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15250 friendly mail back end all over.
15254 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15255 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15258 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15259 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15260 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15261 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15262 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15263 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15264 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15265 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15268 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15269 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15270 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
15271 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15272 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15273 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15274 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15275 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15276 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15277 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15278 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15280 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15281 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15282 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15283 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15284 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15287 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15288 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15289 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15290 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15291 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15292 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15293 removed in the future.
15295 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15296 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15297 on your file system.
15299 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15300 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15305 @node Browsing the Web
15306 @section Browsing the Web
15308 @cindex browsing the web
15312 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15313 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15314 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15315 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15316 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15317 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15318 even know what a news group is.
15320 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15321 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15322 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15323 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15324 you mad in the end.
15326 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15329 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15330 interfaces to these sources.
15334 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15335 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15336 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15337 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15338 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15339 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15342 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15344 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15345 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15346 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15347 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15348 though, you should be ok.
15350 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15351 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15352 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15353 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15354 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15356 @node Archiving Mail
15357 @subsection Archiving Mail
15358 @cindex archiving mail
15359 @cindex backup of mail
15361 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15362 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15363 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15364 marks is fairly simple.
15366 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15367 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15370 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15371 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15372 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15373 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15374 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15375 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15376 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15377 before you restore the data.
15379 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15380 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15381 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15382 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15383 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15384 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15385 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15386 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15387 is unnecessary in that case.
15390 @subsection Web Searches
15395 @cindex Usenet searches
15396 @cindex searching the Usenet
15398 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15399 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15400 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15401 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15402 searches without having to use a browser.
15404 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15405 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15406 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15407 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15408 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15410 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15411 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15412 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15413 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15414 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15415 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15416 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15417 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15418 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15419 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15422 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15423 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15424 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15425 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15426 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15427 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15429 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15430 to use @code{nnweb}.
15432 Virtual server variables:
15437 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15438 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15439 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15442 @vindex nnweb-search
15443 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15445 @item nnweb-max-hits
15446 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15447 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15450 @item nnweb-type-definition
15451 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15452 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15453 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15458 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15462 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15465 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15468 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15472 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15479 @subsection Slashdot
15483 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15484 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15485 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15487 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15488 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15491 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15492 '((nnslashdot "")))
15495 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15496 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15497 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15498 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15499 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15502 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15503 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15505 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15506 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15507 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15508 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
15509 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15510 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15511 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15513 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15516 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15517 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15518 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15519 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15520 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15521 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15522 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15524 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15525 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15526 The login name to use when posting.
15528 @item nnslashdot-password
15529 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15530 The password to use when posting.
15532 @item nnslashdot-directory
15533 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15534 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15535 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15537 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15538 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15539 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
15540 news articles and comments. The default is@*
15541 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15543 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15544 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15545 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15547 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15549 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15550 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15551 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15553 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15555 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15556 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15557 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15559 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15560 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15561 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15562 updated. The default is 0.
15569 @subsection Ultimate
15571 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15573 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15574 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15575 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15576 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15578 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15579 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15580 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15581 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15582 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15583 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15584 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15586 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15589 @item nnultimate-directory
15590 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15591 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15592 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15597 @subsection Web Archive
15599 @cindex Web Archive
15601 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15602 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15603 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15604 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15607 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15608 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15609 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15610 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15611 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15612 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15613 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15614 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15616 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15619 @item nnwarchive-directory
15620 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15621 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15622 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15624 @item nnwarchive-login
15625 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15626 The account name on the web server.
15628 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15629 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15630 The password for your account on the web server.
15638 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15639 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15640 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15643 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15644 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15647 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15650 @item nnrss-directory
15651 @vindex nnrss-directory
15652 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15653 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15657 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15658 the summary buffer.
15661 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15662 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15664 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15666 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15667 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15670 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15673 (require 'browse-url)
15675 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15677 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15680 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15681 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15684 (browse-url (cdr url))
15685 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15686 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15688 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15689 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15690 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15691 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15694 @node Customizing w3
15695 @subsection Customizing w3
15701 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15702 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15703 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15705 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15706 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15707 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15710 (eval-after-load "w3"
15712 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15713 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15714 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15715 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15717 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15720 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15721 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15728 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15730 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15731 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15732 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15733 specify the network address of the server.
15735 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15736 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15737 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15738 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15739 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15740 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15742 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15743 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15744 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15745 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15747 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15748 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15749 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15750 usage explained in this section.
15752 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP} servers
15753 might look something like the following. (Note that for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you
15754 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15757 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15758 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15759 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15761 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15762 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15763 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15765 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15766 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15767 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15768 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15769 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15770 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15771 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15772 (nnimap-stream network))
15773 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15775 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15776 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15777 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15780 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15781 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15782 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15783 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15785 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15790 @item nnimap-address
15791 @vindex nnimap-address
15793 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15794 server name if not specified.
15796 @item nnimap-server-port
15797 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15798 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15800 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15803 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15804 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15807 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15808 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15809 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15810 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15811 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15812 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15813 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15815 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15816 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15817 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15820 Example server specification:
15823 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15824 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15825 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15828 @item nnimap-stream
15829 @vindex nnimap-stream
15830 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15831 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15832 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15833 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15835 Example server specification:
15838 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15839 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15842 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15846 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15847 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
15849 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15851 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15852 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15855 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
15856 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
15858 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15859 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15861 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
15863 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15866 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15867 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15868 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15869 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15870 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15871 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15872 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15873 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15874 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15877 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
15878 needed. It is available from
15879 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
15881 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
15882 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
15883 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
15884 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
15885 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
15886 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
15887 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
15890 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15891 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15892 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15893 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
15894 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15895 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15896 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15899 @vindex imap-shell-program
15900 @vindex imap-shell-host
15901 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15902 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15904 @item nnimap-authenticator
15905 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15907 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15908 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15910 Example server specification:
15913 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15914 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15917 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15921 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15922 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
15924 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15927 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15928 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15930 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15932 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15934 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15937 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15939 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15940 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers has decided that things that
15941 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
15942 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15943 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15944 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15947 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15948 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15949 running in circles yet?
15951 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15952 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15955 The possible options are:
15960 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15963 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15964 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
15965 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15966 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15968 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15973 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15974 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15976 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
15977 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15978 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15979 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
15980 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
15983 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15984 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15987 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15988 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15989 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15990 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15993 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15994 as ticked for other users.
15996 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15998 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16000 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16001 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16002 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16003 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16005 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16006 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16007 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16008 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16010 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16011 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16013 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16014 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16015 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16021 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16022 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16023 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16024 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16025 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16030 @node Splitting in IMAP
16031 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16032 @cindex splitting imap mail
16034 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
16035 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16036 @acronym{IMAP} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
16037 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @acronym{IMAP}
16038 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
16042 Here are the variables of interest:
16046 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16047 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16049 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16051 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16052 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16053 found will be used.
16055 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16057 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16058 @cindex splitting, inbox
16060 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16062 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16063 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16064 splitting is disabled!
16067 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16068 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16071 No nnmail equivalent.
16073 @item nnimap-split-rule
16074 @cindex Splitting, rules
16075 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16077 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16080 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16081 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16082 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16083 Neither did I, we need examples.
16086 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16088 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16089 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16090 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16093 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16094 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16095 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16097 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
16098 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16102 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16105 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16106 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16108 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16109 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16110 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16111 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16113 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16114 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16115 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16116 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16117 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16118 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16120 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16121 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16122 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16124 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16125 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16126 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16128 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16130 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16131 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16132 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16135 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16136 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16137 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16138 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16139 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16140 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16143 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16144 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16145 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16146 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16147 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16148 group/function elements.
16150 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16152 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16154 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16156 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16157 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16159 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16160 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16161 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16164 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16165 @cindex splitting, fancy
16166 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16167 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16169 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16170 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16171 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16173 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16174 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16175 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16176 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16181 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16182 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16185 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16187 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16188 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16189 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16191 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16192 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16193 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16194 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16198 @node Expiring in IMAP
16199 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16200 @cindex expiring imap mail
16202 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16203 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16204 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16205 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16206 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16207 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16210 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16211 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16212 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16213 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16214 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16215 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16216 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16217 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16221 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16222 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16224 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16225 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16227 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16229 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16230 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16231 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16232 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16236 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16237 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16238 @cindex editing imap acls
16239 @cindex Access Control Lists
16240 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16242 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16244 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16245 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16246 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16249 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16250 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
16251 editing window with detailed instructions.
16253 Some possible uses:
16257 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16258 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16259 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16261 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16262 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16263 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16267 @node Expunging mailboxes
16268 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16272 @cindex Manual expunging
16274 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16276 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16277 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16278 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16280 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16283 @node A note on namespaces
16284 @subsection A note on namespaces
16285 @cindex IMAP namespace
16288 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16289 by the following text in the RFC:
16292 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16294 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16295 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16296 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16297 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16299 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16300 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16301 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16302 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16303 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16304 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16307 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16308 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16309 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16311 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16312 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16313 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16314 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16315 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16316 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16317 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16318 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16321 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16322 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16323 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16325 @node Other Sources
16326 @section Other Sources
16328 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16329 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16333 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16334 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16335 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16336 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16337 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16341 @node Directory Groups
16342 @subsection Directory Groups
16344 @cindex directory groups
16346 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16347 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16350 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16351 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16352 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16353 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16355 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16356 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16357 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16358 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16359 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16361 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16363 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16364 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16365 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16366 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16369 @node Anything Groups
16370 @subsection Anything Groups
16373 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16374 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16375 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16378 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16379 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16380 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16381 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16382 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16383 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16384 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16385 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16386 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16387 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16390 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16391 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16392 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16393 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16395 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16396 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16397 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16398 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16400 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16401 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16402 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16403 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16404 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16405 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16406 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16407 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16412 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16413 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16414 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16415 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16417 @item nneething-exclude-files
16418 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16419 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16420 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16422 @item nneething-include-files
16423 @vindex nneething-include-files
16424 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16425 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16427 @item nneething-map-file
16428 @vindex nneething-map-file
16429 Name of the map files.
16433 @node Document Groups
16434 @subsection Document Groups
16436 @cindex documentation group
16439 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16440 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16447 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16452 The standard Unix mbox file.
16454 @cindex MMDF mail box
16456 The MMDF mail box format.
16459 Several news articles appended into a file.
16462 @cindex rnews batch files
16463 The rnews batch transport format.
16464 @cindex forwarded messages
16467 Forwarded articles.
16470 Netscape mail boxes.
16473 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16475 @item standard-digest
16476 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16479 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16481 @item lanl-gov-announce
16482 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16484 @item rfc822-forward
16485 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16488 The Outlook mail box.
16491 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16494 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16497 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16500 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16506 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16509 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16515 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16516 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16517 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16520 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16521 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16522 group. And that's it.
16524 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16525 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16526 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16527 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16528 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16529 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16530 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16531 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16532 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16533 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16535 Virtual server variables:
16538 @item nndoc-article-type
16539 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16540 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16541 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16542 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16543 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16544 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16546 @item nndoc-post-type
16547 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16548 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16549 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16554 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16558 @node Document Server Internals
16559 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16561 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16562 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16563 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16564 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16566 First, here's an example document type definition:
16570 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16571 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16574 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16575 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16576 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16577 types can be defined with very few settings:
16580 @item first-article
16581 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16582 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16585 @item article-begin
16586 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16587 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16589 @item head-begin-function
16590 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16593 @item nndoc-head-begin
16594 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16597 @item nndoc-head-end
16598 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16599 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16601 @item body-begin-function
16602 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16606 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16609 @item body-end-function
16610 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16614 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16617 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16618 regexp will be totally ignored.
16622 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16623 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16624 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16625 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16626 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16629 @item prepare-body-function
16630 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16631 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16632 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16634 @item article-transform-function
16635 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16636 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16637 body of the article.
16639 @item generate-head-function
16640 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16641 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16642 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16643 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16647 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16652 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16653 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16654 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16655 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16656 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16657 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16658 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16659 (subtype digest guess))
16662 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16663 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16664 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16665 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16666 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16668 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16669 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16670 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16671 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16672 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16673 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16674 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16675 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16676 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16677 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16678 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16679 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16687 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16688 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16689 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16691 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16692 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16693 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16696 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16697 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16698 that interested in doing things properly.
16700 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16701 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16704 First some terminology:
16709 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16710 get news and/or mail from.
16713 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16714 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16717 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16721 @item message packets
16722 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16723 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16724 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16726 @item response packets
16727 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16728 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16729 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16739 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16740 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16741 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16742 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16745 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16748 You put the packet in your home directory.
16751 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16752 the native or secondary server.
16755 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16756 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16759 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16763 You transfer this packet to the server.
16766 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16769 You then repeat until you die.
16773 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16774 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16777 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16778 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16779 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16783 @node SOUP Commands
16784 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16786 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16790 @kindex G s b (Group)
16791 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16792 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16793 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16794 process/prefix convention.
16797 @kindex G s w (Group)
16798 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16799 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16802 @kindex G s s (Group)
16803 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16804 Send all replies from the replies packet
16805 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16808 @kindex G s p (Group)
16809 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16810 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16813 @kindex G s r (Group)
16814 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16815 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16818 @kindex O s (Summary)
16819 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16820 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16821 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16822 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16827 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16832 @item gnus-soup-directory
16833 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16834 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16835 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16837 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16838 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16839 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16840 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16842 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16843 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16844 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16845 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16847 @item gnus-soup-packer
16848 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16849 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16850 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16852 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16853 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16854 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16855 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16857 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16858 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16859 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16861 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16862 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16863 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16864 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16870 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16873 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16874 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16875 you can read them at leisure.
16877 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16881 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16882 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16883 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16884 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16886 @item nnsoup-directory
16887 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16888 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16889 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16891 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16892 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16893 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16894 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16896 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16897 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16898 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16899 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16900 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16902 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16903 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16904 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16905 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16907 @item nnsoup-active-file
16908 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16909 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16910 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16911 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16912 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16914 @item nnsoup-packer
16915 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16916 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16917 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16919 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16920 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16921 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16922 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16924 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16925 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16926 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16929 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16930 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16931 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16934 @item nnsoup-always-save
16935 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16936 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16942 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16944 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16945 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16946 more for that to happen.
16948 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16949 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16950 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16953 In specific, this is what it does:
16956 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16957 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16960 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16961 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16962 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16965 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16966 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16967 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16970 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16971 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16972 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16974 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16980 @item nngateway-address
16981 @vindex nngateway-address
16982 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16984 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16985 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16986 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16987 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16988 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16989 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16990 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16993 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16994 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16995 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16998 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17001 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17004 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17007 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17009 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17012 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17013 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17014 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17016 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17018 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17019 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17020 @code{nngateway-address}.
17028 (setq gnus-post-method
17030 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17031 (nngateway-header-transformation
17032 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17035 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17038 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17043 @node Combined Groups
17044 @section Combined Groups
17046 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17050 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17051 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17055 @node Virtual Groups
17056 @subsection Virtual Groups
17058 @cindex virtual groups
17059 @cindex merging groups
17061 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17064 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17065 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17066 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17068 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17069 regexp to match component groups.
17071 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17072 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17073 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17074 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17075 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17076 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17077 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17078 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17080 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17081 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17084 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17087 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17088 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17090 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17091 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17092 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17093 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17096 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17099 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17100 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17101 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17103 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17104 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17105 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17106 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17107 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17109 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17110 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17111 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17113 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17114 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17115 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17116 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17117 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17118 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17119 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17120 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17121 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17122 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17123 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17125 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17126 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17127 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17128 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17129 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17130 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17131 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17133 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17134 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17136 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17137 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17141 @node Kibozed Groups
17142 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17146 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @acronym{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
17147 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
17148 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server down to a halt
17149 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17151 @kindex G k (Group)
17152 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17155 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17156 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17157 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17158 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17160 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17161 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17162 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17164 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17165 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17166 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17167 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17168 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17169 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17170 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17171 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17173 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17174 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17175 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17176 Stranger things have happened.
17178 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17179 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17181 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17182 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17183 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
17184 contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in the group,
17185 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
17186 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
17188 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17189 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17192 @node Gnus Unplugged
17193 @section Gnus Unplugged
17198 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
17200 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17201 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17202 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17203 read news. Believe it or not.
17205 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17206 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17207 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17208 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17209 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17211 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17212 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17213 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17214 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17215 reading news on a machine.
17217 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17218 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17220 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17223 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17224 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17225 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17226 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17227 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17228 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17229 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17230 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17231 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17232 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17233 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17234 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17239 @subsection Agent Basics
17241 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17243 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17244 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17245 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17246 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17248 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17249 connected to the net continuously.
17251 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17252 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17254 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17259 @findex gnus-unplugged
17260 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17261 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17262 already fetched while in this mode.
17265 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17266 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17267 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17268 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
17269 Source Specifiers}).
17272 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
17273 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
17274 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
17275 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
17276 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
17279 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17280 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17281 then you read the news offline.
17284 And then you go to step 2.
17287 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17293 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17294 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17295 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17296 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17297 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17298 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17299 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17300 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17303 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17304 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17305 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17306 is probably best to start with a category @xref{Agent Categories}.
17308 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17309 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17310 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17311 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17312 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17313 your policy, you can use grou parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17317 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17321 @node Agent Categories
17322 @subsection Agent Categories
17324 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17325 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17326 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17327 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17328 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17329 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17330 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17332 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17333 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17334 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17335 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17336 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17338 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17339 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17340 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17341 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17342 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17345 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17346 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17347 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17348 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17349 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17350 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17354 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17355 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17356 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17360 @node Category Syntax
17361 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17363 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17364 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17365 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17369 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17370 The name of the category.
17372 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17373 The list of groups that are in this category.
17375 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17376 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17377 are eligible for downloading; and
17379 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17380 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17381 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17382 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17384 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17385 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17386 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17387 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17388 only groups that should not be expired.
17390 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17391 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17392 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17394 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17395 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17397 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17398 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17400 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17401 an integer that overrides the value of
17402 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17404 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17405 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17408 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17411 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17412 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17413 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17416 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17417 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17418 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17419 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17421 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17422 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17423 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17425 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17426 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17427 operators sprinkled in between.
17429 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17431 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17432 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17438 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17439 short (for some value of ``short'').
17441 Here's a more complex predicate:
17450 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17451 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17454 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17455 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17456 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17458 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17459 you want to do, you can write your own.
17461 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17462 bound to the value determined by calling
17463 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17464 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17465 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17466 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17467 predicate to individual groups.
17471 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17472 lines; default 100.
17475 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17476 lines; default 200.
17479 True iff the article has a download score less than
17480 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17483 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17484 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17487 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17488 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17489 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17498 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17499 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17500 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17503 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17504 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17505 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17506 something along the lines of the following:
17509 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17510 "Say whether an article is old."
17511 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17512 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17515 with the predicate then defined as:
17518 (not my-article-old-p)
17521 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17522 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17526 (require 'gnus-agent)
17527 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17528 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17529 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17532 and simply specify your predicate as:
17538 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17539 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17540 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17541 just don't give a damn.
17543 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17544 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17545 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17546 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
17547 parameters like so:
17550 (agent-predicate . short)
17553 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17554 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17555 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17557 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17560 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17563 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17564 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17565 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17568 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17569 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17570 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17571 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17572 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17573 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17575 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17576 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17577 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17578 if it's to be specific to that group.
17580 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17587 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
17588 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17594 Category specification
17598 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17604 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17607 (agent-score ("from"
17608 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17613 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17619 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17620 keywords stated above.
17626 Category specification
17629 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17635 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17639 Group Parameter specification
17642 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17645 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17650 Use @code{normal} score files
17652 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17653 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17654 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17655 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17657 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17658 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17659 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17660 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17664 Category Specification
17671 Group Parameter specification
17674 (agent-score . file)
17679 @node Category Buffer
17680 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17682 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17683 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17684 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17686 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17690 @kindex q (Category)
17691 @findex gnus-category-exit
17692 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17695 @kindex e (Category)
17696 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17697 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17698 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17701 @kindex k (Category)
17702 @findex gnus-category-kill
17703 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17706 @kindex c (Category)
17707 @findex gnus-category-copy
17708 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17711 @kindex a (Category)
17712 @findex gnus-category-add
17713 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17716 @kindex p (Category)
17717 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17718 Edit the predicate of the current category
17719 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17722 @kindex g (Category)
17723 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17724 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17725 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17728 @kindex s (Category)
17729 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17730 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17731 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17734 @kindex l (Category)
17735 @findex gnus-category-list
17736 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17740 @node Category Variables
17741 @subsubsection Category Variables
17744 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17745 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17746 Hook run in category buffers.
17748 @item gnus-category-line-format
17749 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17750 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17751 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17755 The name of the category.
17758 The number of groups in the category.
17761 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17762 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17763 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17765 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17766 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17767 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17769 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17770 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17771 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17773 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17774 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17775 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17778 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17779 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17780 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17783 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17784 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17785 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17786 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17787 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17788 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17789 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17790 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17794 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17795 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17796 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17797 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17798 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17799 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17800 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17805 @node Agent Commands
17806 @subsection Agent Commands
17807 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17808 @kindex J j (Agent)
17810 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17811 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17812 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17816 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17817 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17818 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17824 @node Group Agent Commands
17825 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17829 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17830 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17831 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17832 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17835 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17836 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17837 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17840 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17841 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17842 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17843 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17846 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17847 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17848 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17849 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17852 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17853 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17854 Add the current group to an Agent category
17855 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17856 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17859 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17860 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17861 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17862 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17863 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17866 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17867 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17868 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17874 @node Summary Agent Commands
17875 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17879 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17880 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17881 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17884 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17885 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17886 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17887 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17891 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17892 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17893 Toggle whether to download the article
17894 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17898 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17899 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17900 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17903 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17904 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17905 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17906 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17909 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17910 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17911 Download all processable articles in this group.
17912 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17915 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17916 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17917 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17918 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17923 @node Server Agent Commands
17924 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17928 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17929 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17930 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17931 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17934 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17935 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17936 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17937 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17942 @node Agent as Cache
17943 @subsection Agent as Cache
17945 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17946 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17947 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17948 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17949 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17950 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17951 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17952 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17953 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17955 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17956 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
17957 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
17958 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
17959 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap backend.
17962 @subsection Agent Expiry
17964 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17965 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17966 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17967 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
17968 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
17969 @cindex Agent expiry
17970 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17973 The Agent backend, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
17974 least it doesn't handle it like other backends. Instead, there are
17975 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
17976 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
17977 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
17978 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
17979 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
17980 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
17982 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17983 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17984 synchronized with the group.
17986 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
17987 prevent expiration in selected groups.
17989 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17990 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
17991 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
17992 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
17993 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
17994 be kept indefinitely.
17996 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17997 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
17998 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
17999 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18001 @node Agent Regeneration
18002 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18004 @cindex Agent Regeneration
18005 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
18006 @cindex regeneration
18008 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18009 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18010 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18011 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18012 internal inconsistencies.
18014 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18015 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18016 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18017 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18018 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18019 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18021 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18022 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18023 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18024 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18025 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18026 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18028 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18029 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18030 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18031 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18032 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18033 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18036 @node Agent and IMAP
18037 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18039 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18040 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18041 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18042 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18044 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18045 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18046 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18047 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18049 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18050 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18051 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18052 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18054 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18055 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18056 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18057 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18058 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18059 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18061 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18062 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18063 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18064 in the group buffer.
18066 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18067 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18072 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18075 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18079 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18080 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18081 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18082 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
18083 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18084 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18085 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18086 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18089 @node Outgoing Messages
18090 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18092 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18093 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18094 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18096 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18097 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18098 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18099 messages in the draft group.
18103 @node Agent Variables
18104 @subsection Agent Variables
18107 @item gnus-agent-directory
18108 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18109 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18110 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18112 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18113 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18114 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18115 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18116 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18119 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18120 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18121 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18123 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18124 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18125 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18127 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18128 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18129 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18131 @item gnus-agent-cache
18132 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18133 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18134 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18135 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18137 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18138 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18139 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18140 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18141 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18142 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18143 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18146 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18147 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18148 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18149 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18150 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18151 read. The default is t.
18153 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18154 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18155 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18156 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
18157 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
18159 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18160 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18161 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18162 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18163 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18164 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18165 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18166 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18167 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18168 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18169 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18170 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18173 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18174 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18175 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18176 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18177 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18178 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18179 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18180 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18181 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18183 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18184 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18185 Another variable that isn't a Agent variable, yet so closely related
18186 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18187 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18188 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18190 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18191 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18192 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18193 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18194 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18199 @node Example Setup
18200 @subsection Example Setup
18202 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18203 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18204 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18207 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18208 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18209 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18211 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18212 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18213 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18215 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18216 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18218 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18219 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18220 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18223 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18224 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18227 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18228 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18229 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18230 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18231 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18234 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18235 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18236 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18237 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18238 back all the killed groups.)
18240 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18241 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18242 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18245 @node Batching Agents
18246 @subsection Batching Agents
18247 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18249 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18250 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18251 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18253 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18254 following incantation:
18258 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18262 @node Agent Caveats
18263 @subsection Agent Caveats
18265 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18266 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18270 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18272 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18273 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18274 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18276 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18277 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18279 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18283 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18284 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18285 locally stored articles.
18292 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18293 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18294 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18297 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18298 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18299 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18300 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18301 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18303 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18304 before generating the summary buffer.
18306 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18307 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18308 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18310 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18311 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18312 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18313 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18316 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18317 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18318 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18319 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18320 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18321 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18322 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18323 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18324 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18325 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18326 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18327 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18328 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18329 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18330 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18331 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18332 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18336 @node Summary Score Commands
18337 @section Summary Score Commands
18338 @cindex score commands
18340 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18341 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18342 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18343 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18344 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18346 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18347 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18348 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18349 score file the current one.
18351 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18356 @kindex V s (Summary)
18357 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18358 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18361 @kindex V S (Summary)
18362 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18363 Display the score of the current article
18364 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18367 @kindex V t (Summary)
18368 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18369 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18370 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18371 can use @kbd{q} to quit. @kbd{e} edits the corresponding score file.
18372 When point is on a string within the match element, @kbd{e} will try to
18373 bring you to this string in the score file.
18376 @kindex V w (Summary)
18377 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18378 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18381 @kindex V R (Summary)
18382 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18383 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18384 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18385 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18386 effect you're having.
18389 @kindex V c (Summary)
18390 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18391 Make a different score file the current
18392 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18395 @kindex V e (Summary)
18396 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18397 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18398 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18402 @kindex V f (Summary)
18403 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18404 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18405 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18408 @kindex V F (Summary)
18409 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18410 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18411 after editing score files.
18414 @kindex V C (Summary)
18415 @findex gnus-score-customize
18416 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18417 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18421 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18426 @kindex V m (Summary)
18427 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18428 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18429 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18432 @kindex V x (Summary)
18433 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18434 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18435 expunge all articles below this score
18436 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18439 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18440 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18443 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18444 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18448 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18449 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18451 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18452 keys are available:
18456 Score on the author name.
18459 Score on the subject line.
18462 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18465 Score on the @code{References} line.
18471 Score on the number of lines.
18474 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18477 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18478 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18481 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18482 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18483 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18492 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18498 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18499 what headers you are scoring on.
18511 Substring matching.
18514 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18543 Greater than number.
18548 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18549 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18550 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18555 Temporary score entry.
18558 Permanent score entry.
18561 Immediately scoring.
18565 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18566 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18567 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18571 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18572 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18573 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18574 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18576 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18577 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18578 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18579 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18580 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18582 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18583 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18584 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18585 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18586 current score file.
18588 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18589 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18590 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18593 @node Group Score Commands
18594 @section Group Score Commands
18595 @cindex group score commands
18597 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18602 @kindex W f (Group)
18603 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18604 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18605 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18606 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18610 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18612 @findex gnus-batch-score
18613 @cindex batch scoring
18615 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18619 @node Score Variables
18620 @section Score Variables
18621 @cindex score variables
18625 @item gnus-use-scoring
18626 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18627 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18628 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18630 @item gnus-kill-killed
18631 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18632 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18633 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18634 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18635 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18636 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18637 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18639 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18640 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18641 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18642 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18643 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18645 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18646 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18647 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18648 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18650 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18651 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18652 @cindex score cache
18653 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18654 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18655 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18656 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18657 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18658 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18659 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18662 @item gnus-save-score
18663 @vindex gnus-save-score
18664 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18665 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18666 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18668 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18669 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18670 across group visits.
18672 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18673 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18674 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18675 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18676 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18677 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18678 manually entered data.
18680 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18681 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18682 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18684 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18685 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18686 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18687 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18688 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18689 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18691 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18692 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18693 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18694 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18696 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18697 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18698 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18699 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18701 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18702 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18703 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18704 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18706 Predefined functions available are:
18709 @item gnus-score-find-single
18710 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18711 Only apply the group's own score file.
18713 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18714 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18715 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18716 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18717 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18718 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18719 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18720 then a regexp match is done.
18722 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18723 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18725 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18726 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18727 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18728 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18730 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18731 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18732 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18733 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18734 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18738 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18739 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18740 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18741 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18742 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18743 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18744 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18747 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18748 overall score file, you could use the value
18750 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18751 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18754 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18755 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18756 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18757 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18758 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18760 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18761 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18762 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18763 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18764 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18765 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18766 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18767 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18769 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18770 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18771 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18773 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18774 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18775 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
18776 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18777 threading---according to the current value of
18778 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
18779 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18780 simplified in this manner.
18785 @node Score File Format
18786 @section Score File Format
18787 @cindex score file format
18789 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18790 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18791 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18793 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18797 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18799 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18801 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18803 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18808 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18812 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18813 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18814 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18815 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18819 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18820 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18822 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18823 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18824 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18826 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18831 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18832 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18833 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18834 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18835 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18836 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18837 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18838 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18839 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18840 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18841 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18842 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18843 to articles that matches these score entries.
18845 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18846 score entry has one to four elements.
18850 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18851 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18855 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18856 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18857 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18858 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18859 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18860 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18863 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18864 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18865 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18866 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18867 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18870 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18871 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18872 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18873 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18876 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18877 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18878 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18879 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18880 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18881 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18882 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18883 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18884 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18885 instead, if you feel like.
18888 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18889 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18890 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18891 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18892 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18893 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18896 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18900 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18901 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18903 These predicates are true if
18906 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18909 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18910 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18917 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18918 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18919 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18920 it's not. I think.)
18922 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18923 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18924 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18925 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18928 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18929 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18930 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18931 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18932 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18933 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18934 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18938 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18939 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18940 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18941 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18942 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18943 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18944 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18945 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18948 @item Head, Body, All
18949 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18953 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18954 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18955 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18956 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18957 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18958 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18959 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18963 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18964 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18965 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18966 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18967 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18968 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18969 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18970 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18971 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18972 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18973 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18977 @cindex Score File Atoms
18979 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18980 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18983 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18984 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18986 @item mark-and-expunge
18987 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18988 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18991 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18992 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18993 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18994 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18995 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18998 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18999 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19002 @item exclude-files
19003 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19004 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19008 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19009 ignored when handling global score files.
19012 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19013 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19014 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19015 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19018 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19019 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19020 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19021 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19023 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19027 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19030 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19031 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19032 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19033 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19034 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19036 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19037 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19038 scoring rules exist.
19041 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19042 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19043 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19044 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19045 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19046 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19047 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19048 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19049 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19050 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19051 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19055 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19056 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19057 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19058 file for a number of groups.
19061 @cindex local variables
19062 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19063 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19064 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19065 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19066 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19071 @node Score File Editing
19072 @section Score File Editing
19074 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19075 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19076 with a mode for that.
19078 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19079 additional commands:
19084 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19085 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19086 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19087 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19090 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19091 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19092 Insert the current date in numerical format
19093 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19094 you were wondering.
19097 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19098 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19099 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19100 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19101 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19106 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19108 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19109 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19111 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
19112 e} to begin editing score files.
19115 @node Adaptive Scoring
19116 @section Adaptive Scoring
19117 @cindex adaptive scoring
19119 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19120 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19121 stupidity, to be precise.
19123 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19124 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19125 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19126 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19127 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19128 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19129 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19130 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19131 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19133 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19134 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19135 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19136 might look something like this:
19139 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19140 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19141 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19142 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19143 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19144 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19145 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19146 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19147 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19148 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19149 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19150 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19153 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19154 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19155 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19156 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19157 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19158 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19161 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19162 will be applied to each article.
19164 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19165 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19166 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19167 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19169 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19170 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19171 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19172 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19174 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19175 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19176 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19177 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19179 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19180 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19181 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19182 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19183 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19184 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19186 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19187 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19188 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19190 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19191 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19192 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19194 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19195 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19196 let you use different rules in different groups.
19198 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19199 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19200 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19203 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19204 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19205 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19206 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19207 the length of the match is less than
19208 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19209 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19212 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19213 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19214 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19215 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19216 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19219 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19220 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19221 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19222 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19223 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19226 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19227 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19228 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19229 score with 30 points.
19231 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19232 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19233 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19234 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19235 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19237 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19238 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19239 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19240 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19241 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19243 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19244 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19245 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19246 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19248 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19249 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19250 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19251 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19253 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19254 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19255 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19256 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19257 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19259 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19260 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19261 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19263 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19264 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19265 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19266 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19269 @node Home Score File
19270 @section Home Score File
19272 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19273 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19274 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19275 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19277 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19278 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19279 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19281 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19282 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19287 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19291 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19292 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19296 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19300 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19301 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19304 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19305 be used as the home score file.
19308 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19311 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19316 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19319 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19320 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19323 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19324 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19326 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19328 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19329 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19332 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19333 Other functions include
19336 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19337 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19338 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19339 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19343 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19344 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19345 their own home score files:
19348 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19349 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19350 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19351 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19352 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19355 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19356 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19357 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19358 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19359 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19361 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19362 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19363 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19364 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19365 precedence over this variable.
19368 @node Followups To Yourself
19369 @section Followups To Yourself
19371 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19372 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19373 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19374 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19375 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19376 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19380 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19381 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19382 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19385 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19386 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19387 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19391 @vindex message-sent-hook
19392 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19393 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19395 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19399 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19400 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19404 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19405 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19408 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19409 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19414 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19418 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19419 is system-dependent.
19422 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19423 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19424 @cindex scoring on other headers
19426 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19427 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19428 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19429 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19430 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19432 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19433 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
19434 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
19435 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
19436 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19438 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19441 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19442 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19445 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19446 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19447 time if you have much mail.
19449 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19450 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19456 @section Scoring Tips
19457 @cindex scoring tips
19463 @cindex scoring crossposts
19464 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19465 the @code{Xref} header.
19467 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19470 @item Multiple crossposts
19471 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19472 more than, say, 3 groups:
19475 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19479 @item Matching on the body
19480 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19481 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19482 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19483 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19484 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19485 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19486 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19489 @item Marking as read
19490 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19491 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19492 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19496 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19498 @item Negated character classes
19499 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19500 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19501 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19505 @node Reverse Scoring
19506 @section Reverse Scoring
19507 @cindex reverse scoring
19509 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19510 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19511 like this in your score file:
19515 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19520 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19521 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19524 @node Global Score Files
19525 @section Global Score Files
19526 @cindex global score files
19528 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19529 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19530 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19532 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19533 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19534 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19536 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19537 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19538 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19539 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19540 files are applicable to which group.
19542 To use the score file
19543 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19544 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19548 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19549 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19550 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19553 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19555 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19556 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19557 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19558 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19560 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19561 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19563 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19564 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19565 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19566 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19567 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19568 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19570 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19576 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19578 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19580 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19582 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19583 lowered out of existence.
19585 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19586 articles completely.
19589 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19590 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19591 old articles for a long time.
19594 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19595 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19596 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19597 holding our breath yet?
19601 @section Kill Files
19604 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19605 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19606 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19608 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19609 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19610 files into score files.
19612 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19613 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19614 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19615 that isn't a very good idea.
19617 Normal kill files look like this:
19620 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19621 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19625 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19626 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19628 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19629 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19632 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
19637 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19638 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19639 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19642 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19643 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19644 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19647 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19652 @kindex M-k (Group)
19653 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19654 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19657 @kindex M-K (Group)
19658 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19659 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19662 Kill file variables:
19665 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19666 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19667 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19668 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19669 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19670 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19671 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19673 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19674 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19675 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19676 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19679 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19680 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19681 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19682 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19683 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19684 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19685 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19686 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19687 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19689 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19690 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19691 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19696 @node Converting Kill Files
19697 @section Converting Kill Files
19699 @cindex converting kill files
19701 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19702 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19703 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19706 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19707 You can fetch it from
19708 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19710 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19711 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19712 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19720 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/, GroupLens} is a
19721 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19722 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19723 news articles generated every day.
19725 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19726 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19727 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19728 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19729 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19730 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19731 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19732 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19735 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19736 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19739 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19740 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19741 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19742 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19746 @node Using GroupLens
19747 @subsection Using GroupLens
19749 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local
19750 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html, Better Bit
19751 Bureau (BBB)} is the only better bit in town at the moment.
19753 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19757 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19758 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19759 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19760 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19762 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19763 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19764 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19765 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19767 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19768 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19769 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19773 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19774 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19775 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19776 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19777 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19778 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19781 @node Rating Articles
19782 @subsection Rating Articles
19784 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19785 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19786 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19787 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19790 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19795 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19796 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19797 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19800 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19801 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19802 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19803 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19804 threads in rec.humor.
19808 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19809 the score of the article you're reading.
19814 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19815 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19816 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19819 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19820 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19821 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19825 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19826 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19829 @node Displaying Predictions
19830 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19832 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19833 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19834 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19835 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19836 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19838 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19839 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19840 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19841 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19842 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19843 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19844 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19845 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19846 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19847 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19848 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19849 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19850 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19852 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19853 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19854 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19855 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19857 The following are valid values for that variable.
19860 @item prediction-spot
19861 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19864 @item confidence-interval
19865 A numeric confidence interval.
19867 @item prediction-bar
19868 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19870 @item confidence-bar
19871 Numerical confidence.
19873 @item confidence-spot
19874 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19876 @item prediction-num
19877 Plain-old numeric value.
19879 @item confidence-plus-minus
19880 Prediction +/- confidence.
19885 @node GroupLens Variables
19886 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19890 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19891 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19892 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19893 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19896 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19897 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19900 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19901 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19903 @item grouplens-score-offset
19904 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19905 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19908 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19909 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19910 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19915 @node Advanced Scoring
19916 @section Advanced Scoring
19918 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19919 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19920 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19921 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19922 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19924 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19928 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19929 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19930 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19934 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19935 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19937 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19938 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19939 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19940 non-@code{nil} value.
19942 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19943 operator, and various match operators.
19950 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19951 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19952 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19957 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19958 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19959 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19964 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19965 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19969 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19970 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19971 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19972 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19973 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19974 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19975 the ancestry you want to go.
19977 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19978 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19979 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19980 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19981 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19984 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19985 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19987 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19988 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19991 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19992 when he's talking about Gnus:
19996 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19997 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20003 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20007 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20014 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20015 really don't want to read what he's written:
20019 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20020 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20024 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20025 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20026 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20033 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20034 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20035 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20036 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20040 The possibilities are endless.
20043 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20044 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20046 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20047 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20048 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20049 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20050 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20051 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20052 @samp{subject}) first.
20054 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20055 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20066 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20067 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20073 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20080 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20081 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20086 @section Score Decays
20087 @cindex score decays
20090 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20091 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20092 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20093 use them in any sensible way.
20095 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20096 @findex gnus-decay-score
20097 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20098 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20099 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20100 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20101 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20102 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20103 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20104 definition of that function:
20107 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20109 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20110 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20113 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
20115 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20117 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20120 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20121 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20122 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20123 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20127 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20130 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20133 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20137 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20138 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20139 the new score, which should be an integer.
20141 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20142 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20147 @include message.texi
20148 @chapter Emacs MIME
20149 @include emacs-mime.texi
20151 @include sieve.texi
20153 @c @include pgg.texi
20161 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20162 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20163 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20164 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20165 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20166 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20167 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20168 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20169 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20170 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20171 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20172 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20173 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20174 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20175 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20176 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20177 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20178 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20179 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20183 @node Process/Prefix
20184 @section Process/Prefix
20185 @cindex process/prefix convention
20187 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20188 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20190 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20191 command to be performed on.
20195 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20196 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20197 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20198 with the current one.
20200 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20201 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20202 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20204 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20205 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20208 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20209 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20211 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20214 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20215 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20216 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20217 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20219 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20220 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20221 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20222 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20223 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20224 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20225 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20226 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20228 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20229 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20230 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20231 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20232 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20236 @section Interactive
20237 @cindex interaction
20241 @item gnus-novice-user
20242 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20243 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20244 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20245 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20246 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20249 @item gnus-expert-user
20250 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20251 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20252 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20253 matter how strange.
20255 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20256 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20257 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20258 is @code{t} by default.
20260 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20261 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20262 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20267 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20268 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20269 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20271 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20272 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20273 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20274 rule of 900 to the current article.
20276 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20277 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20278 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20279 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20280 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20281 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20282 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20284 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20285 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20286 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20287 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20288 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20289 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20290 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20291 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20292 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20294 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20295 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20296 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20298 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20302 @node Formatting Variables
20303 @section Formatting Variables
20304 @cindex formatting variables
20306 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20307 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20308 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20309 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20310 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20313 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20314 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20315 lots of percentages everywhere.
20318 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20319 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20320 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20321 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20322 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20323 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20324 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20325 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20328 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20329 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20330 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20331 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20332 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20333 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20334 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20335 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20337 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20338 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20340 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20341 @findex gnus-update-format
20342 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20343 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20344 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20345 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20349 @node Formatting Basics
20350 @subsection Formatting Basics
20352 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20353 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20354 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20356 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20357 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20358 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20359 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20360 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20363 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20364 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20365 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20366 less than 4 characters wide.
20368 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20369 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20372 @node Mode Line Formatting
20373 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20375 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20376 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20377 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20378 with the following two differences:
20383 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20386 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20387 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20388 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20389 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20390 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20391 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20392 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20397 @node Advanced Formatting
20398 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20400 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20401 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20402 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20403 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20405 These are the valid modifiers:
20410 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20414 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20419 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20422 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20427 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20430 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20433 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20436 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20442 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20447 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20448 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20449 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20450 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20451 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20452 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20453 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20455 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20456 last operation, padding.
20458 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20459 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20460 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20461 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20462 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20463 the look of your lines.
20464 @xref{Compilation}.
20467 @node User-Defined Specs
20468 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20470 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20471 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20472 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20473 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20474 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20475 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20476 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20477 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20478 should protect against that.
20480 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20481 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20483 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20484 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20485 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20486 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20490 @node Formatting Fonts
20491 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20493 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20494 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20495 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20496 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20499 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20500 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20501 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20502 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20503 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20504 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20506 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20507 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20508 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20509 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20510 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20511 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20512 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20513 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20514 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20515 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20516 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20519 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20522 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20523 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20524 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20526 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20527 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20528 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20529 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20530 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20531 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20532 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20534 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20535 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20536 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20539 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20540 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20542 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20543 mode-line variables.
20545 @node Positioning Point
20546 @subsection Positioning Point
20548 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20549 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20550 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20552 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20554 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20555 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20556 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20558 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20559 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20560 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20565 @subsection Tabulation
20567 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20568 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20569 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20570 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20572 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20573 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20575 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20576 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20577 This is the soft tabulator.
20579 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20580 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20581 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20584 @node Wide Characters
20585 @subsection Wide Characters
20587 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20588 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20589 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20591 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20592 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20593 these countries, that's not true.
20595 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20596 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20597 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20598 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20602 @node Window Layout
20603 @section Window Layout
20604 @cindex window layout
20606 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20608 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20609 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20610 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20611 @code{t} by default.
20613 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20614 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20616 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20617 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20618 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20621 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20622 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20623 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20627 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20628 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20629 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20630 possible names is listed below.
20632 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20633 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20636 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20640 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20641 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20642 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20643 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20644 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20645 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20646 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20647 size spec per split.
20649 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20650 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20651 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20652 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20653 present) gets focus.
20655 Here's a more complicated example:
20658 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20659 (summary 0.25 point)
20660 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20664 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20665 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20666 occupy, not a percentage.
20668 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20669 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20670 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20671 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20672 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20675 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20678 (article (horizontal 1.0
20683 (summary 0.25 point)
20688 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20689 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20691 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20692 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20693 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20694 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20695 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20697 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20698 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20699 lines from the splits.
20701 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20706 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20707 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20708 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20709 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20710 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20711 size = number | frame-params
20712 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20716 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20717 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20718 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20719 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20721 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20722 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20723 @cindex window height
20724 @cindex window width
20725 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20726 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20727 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20728 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20729 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20730 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20732 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20733 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20734 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20735 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20737 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20738 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20739 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20740 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20741 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20742 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20743 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20744 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20745 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20746 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20747 configuration list.
20750 (gnus-configure-frame
20754 (article 0.3 point))
20762 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20763 @code{frame} split:
20766 (gnus-configure-frame
20769 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20771 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20772 (user-position . t)
20773 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20778 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20779 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20780 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20781 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20782 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20783 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20784 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20785 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20787 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20788 be found in its default value.
20790 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20791 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20792 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20796 (message (horizontal 1.0
20797 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20799 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20804 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20805 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20806 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20811 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20812 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20813 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20814 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20815 (name . "Message"))
20816 (message 1.0 point))))
20819 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20820 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20821 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20822 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20823 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20826 (gnus-add-configuration
20827 '(article (vertical 1.0
20829 (summary .25 point)
20833 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20834 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20835 Gnus has been loaded.
20837 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20838 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20839 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20840 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20841 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20843 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20844 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20845 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20848 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20852 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20853 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20868 (gnus-add-configuration
20871 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20873 (summary 0.16 point)
20876 (gnus-add-configuration
20879 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20880 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20886 @node Faces and Fonts
20887 @section Faces and Fonts
20892 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20893 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20894 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20899 @section Compilation
20900 @cindex compilation
20901 @cindex byte-compilation
20903 @findex gnus-compile
20905 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20906 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20907 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20908 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20909 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20910 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20911 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20912 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20915 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20916 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20917 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20918 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20919 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20922 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20923 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20924 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20925 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20926 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20931 @section Mode Lines
20934 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20935 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20936 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20937 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20938 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20939 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20940 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20943 @cindex display-time
20945 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20946 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20947 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20948 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20949 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20950 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20951 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20952 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20955 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20957 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20958 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20960 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20961 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20962 (length display-time-string)))))
20965 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20966 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20967 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20968 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20969 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20972 @node Highlighting and Menus
20973 @section Highlighting and Menus
20975 @cindex highlighting
20978 @vindex gnus-visual
20979 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20980 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20981 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20984 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20985 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20988 @item group-highlight
20989 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20990 @item summary-highlight
20991 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20992 @item article-highlight
20993 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20995 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20997 Create menus in the group buffer.
20999 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21001 Create menus in the article buffer.
21003 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21005 Create menus in the server buffer.
21007 Create menus in the score buffers.
21009 Create menus in all buffers.
21012 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21013 buffers, you could say something like:
21016 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21019 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21022 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21025 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21026 in all Gnus buffers.
21028 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21031 @item gnus-mouse-face
21032 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21033 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21034 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21038 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21042 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21043 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21044 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21046 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21047 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21048 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21050 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21051 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21052 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21054 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21055 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21056 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21058 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21059 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21060 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21062 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21063 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21064 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21075 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21076 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21077 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21078 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21079 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21083 @vindex gnus-carpal
21084 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21085 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21086 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21091 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21092 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21093 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21095 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21096 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21097 Face used on buttons.
21099 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21100 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21101 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21103 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21104 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21105 Buttons in the group buffer.
21107 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21108 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21109 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21111 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21112 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21113 Buttons in the server buffer.
21115 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21116 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21117 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21120 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21121 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21122 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21130 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21131 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21132 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21133 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21134 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21136 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21137 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21138 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21140 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21141 been idle for thirty minutes:
21144 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21147 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21151 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21154 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
21155 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21156 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21158 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21159 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21160 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21161 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21163 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21164 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21165 @var{idle} minutes.
21167 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21168 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21171 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21172 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21173 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21175 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21176 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21177 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21178 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21180 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21181 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21183 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21185 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21188 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21189 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21190 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21191 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21192 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21193 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21194 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21195 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21196 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21197 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21198 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21200 @findex gnus-demon-init
21201 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21202 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21203 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21204 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21205 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21207 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21208 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21209 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21218 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21219 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21221 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21222 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21223 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21224 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21227 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21228 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21229 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21230 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21232 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21233 this will make spam disappear.
21235 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21238 @item gnus-use-nocem
21239 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21240 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21243 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21244 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21245 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21248 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21249 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21252 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21253 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21254 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21255 people you want to listen to. The default is
21257 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21258 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21260 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21262 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21263 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21265 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21266 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21267 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21268 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21269 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21270 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21271 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21272 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21273 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21274 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21276 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21277 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21280 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21283 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21284 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21287 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21290 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21293 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21294 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21296 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21297 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21298 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21299 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21301 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21302 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21305 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21307 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21315 This might be dangerous, though.
21317 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21318 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21319 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21320 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21322 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21323 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21324 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21325 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21326 might then see old spam.
21328 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21329 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21330 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21331 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21332 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21335 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21336 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21337 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21338 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21342 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21343 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21344 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21345 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21352 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21353 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21354 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21356 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21357 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21358 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21359 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21360 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21361 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21362 @code{undo} function.
21364 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21365 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21366 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21367 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21368 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21369 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21370 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21371 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21372 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21373 never be totally undoable.
21375 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21376 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21378 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21379 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21380 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21381 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21385 @node Predicate Specifiers
21386 @section Predicate Specifiers
21387 @cindex predicate specifiers
21389 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21390 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21391 to type all that much.
21393 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21398 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21399 gnus-article-unread-p)
21402 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21403 functions all take one parameter.
21405 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21406 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21407 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21408 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21413 @section Moderation
21416 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21417 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21418 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21421 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21425 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21428 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21430 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21435 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21436 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21437 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21440 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21441 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21444 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21445 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21449 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21452 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21453 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21457 @node Image Enhancements
21458 @section Image Enhancements
21460 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
21461 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
21464 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21465 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21466 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21467 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21480 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21481 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
21482 over your shoulder as you read news.
21484 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21493 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21494 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21495 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21496 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21497 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21498 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21499 @code{GIF} formats.
21502 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21503 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21504 point your Web browser at
21505 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21507 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21508 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21510 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21511 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21514 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21518 @item gnus-picon-databases
21519 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21520 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21521 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21522 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21523 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21525 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21526 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21527 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21528 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21530 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21531 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21532 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21533 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21535 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21536 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21537 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21538 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21539 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21541 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21542 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21543 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21544 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
21549 @subsection Smileys
21554 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21559 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21560 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21562 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21563 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21566 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21569 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21570 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21571 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21572 text and maps that to file names.
21574 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21575 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21576 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21577 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21578 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21581 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21586 @item smiley-data-directory
21587 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21588 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21590 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21591 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21592 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21601 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21602 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21603 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21607 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21608 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
21609 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21610 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21618 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21619 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21620 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21621 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21623 The variable that controls this is the
21624 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21625 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21626 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21627 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21628 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21630 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21631 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21632 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21633 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21636 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21637 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21638 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21639 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21640 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21641 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21642 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21643 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21645 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21648 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21649 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21651 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21652 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21653 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21654 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21655 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21656 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21657 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21658 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21659 header data as a string.
21661 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21662 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21663 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21664 randomly generated data.
21666 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21667 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21668 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21669 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21670 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21672 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21673 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21676 (setq message-required-news-headers
21677 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21678 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21681 Using the last function would be something like this:
21684 (setq message-required-news-headers
21685 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21686 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21687 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21688 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21693 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21696 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21697 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21698 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21699 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21700 unusual directory structure.
21702 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21703 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21704 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21705 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21707 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21708 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21709 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21710 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21711 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21712 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21714 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21715 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21716 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21721 @subsubsection Toolbar
21725 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21726 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21727 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21728 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21729 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21731 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21732 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21733 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21735 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21736 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21737 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21739 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21740 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21741 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21752 @node Fuzzy Matching
21753 @section Fuzzy Matching
21754 @cindex fuzzy matching
21756 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21757 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21759 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21760 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21761 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21763 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21764 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21765 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21766 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21767 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21770 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21771 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21775 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21777 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21778 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21779 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21780 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21781 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21782 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21783 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21784 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21787 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21788 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21789 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21790 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21791 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21792 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21794 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21797 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21798 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21799 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21800 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21801 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21802 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21805 @node The problem of spam
21806 @subsection The problem of spam
21808 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21809 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21811 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21813 First, some background on spam.
21815 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21816 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21817 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21818 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21819 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21820 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21821 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21822 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21824 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21825 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21826 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21827 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21828 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21829 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21830 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21831 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21832 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21835 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21836 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21837 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21838 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21839 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21840 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21841 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21842 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21843 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21844 mail can be useful.
21846 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21847 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21848 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21849 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21850 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21851 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the
21852 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21853 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21854 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21856 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21857 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21858 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21859 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21860 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21861 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21862 because of the incident.
21864 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21865 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21866 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21867 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21868 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21869 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21870 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21871 to store the database of spam analyses.
21873 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21874 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21878 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21880 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21881 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21883 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21884 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21885 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21886 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21887 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21888 part of the mail address.)
21891 (setq message-default-news-headers
21892 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21895 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21896 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21901 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21902 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21903 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21909 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21910 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21911 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21912 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21914 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
21915 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21916 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21917 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21918 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21919 your fancy split rule in this way:
21924 (to "larsi" "misc")
21928 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21929 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21930 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21931 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21932 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21934 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21935 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21936 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21937 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21938 cosmic balance somewhat.
21940 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21941 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21942 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21943 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21948 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21949 @cindex SpamAssassin
21950 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21953 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21954 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21955 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21956 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21957 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21958 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21959 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21961 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21962 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21963 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21964 Specifiers}) follows.
21968 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21971 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21974 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21975 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21976 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21979 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21983 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21986 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21987 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21991 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21992 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21993 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21994 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21997 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21999 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22001 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
22002 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
22004 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
22006 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22007 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22011 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22012 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22013 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22016 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22017 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22019 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22020 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22021 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22025 @subsection Hashcash
22028 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22029 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22030 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
22031 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22032 in smaller communities.
22034 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22035 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22036 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22037 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22038 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22039 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
22040 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22041 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22042 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22043 one of them separately.
22046 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22047 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22048 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22049 header. For more details, and for the external application
22050 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22051 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22052 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22054 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22058 (require 'hashcash)
22059 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22062 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22063 contrib directory. or at
22064 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22066 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22070 @item hashcash-default-payment
22071 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22072 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22073 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22074 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22076 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22077 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22078 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22079 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22080 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22081 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22082 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22083 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22084 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22088 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22092 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22093 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22094 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22095 a useful contribution, however.
22097 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22098 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22099 @cindex spam filtering
22102 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22103 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
22104 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22105 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
22108 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
22109 the following keyboard commands:
22119 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22120 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22122 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22123 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22124 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22125 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22131 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22132 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22134 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22140 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22141 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22144 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22145 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22146 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22147 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22148 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22149 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22150 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22151 will be detected later.
22153 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22154 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22155 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22156 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22157 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22158 by customizing the corresponding variable
22159 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22160 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22161 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22162 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22163 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22164 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22165 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22168 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22169 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
22170 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
22171 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
22172 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
22173 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
22174 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
22175 will study them as spam samples.
22177 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22178 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
22179 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22180 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22181 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22182 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22183 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22184 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
22186 @defvar spam-ham-marks
22187 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22188 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
22189 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
22192 @defvar spam-spam-marks
22193 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22194 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
22197 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22198 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22199 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22200 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22201 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22202 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22205 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22206 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22207 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22208 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22209 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22210 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22211 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22212 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22213 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
22214 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22215 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
22217 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22218 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22220 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22221 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22222 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22223 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22224 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22225 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22226 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
22227 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
22228 the spam articles are only expired.
22230 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22231 must add the following to your fancy split list
22232 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22238 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22239 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22240 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22242 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22243 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22244 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22245 but you can customize it.
22247 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22249 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22250 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22251 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
22252 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22253 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22254 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22255 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down.
22257 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22259 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
22260 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
22261 longer spam or ham.}
22263 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22264 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22267 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
22268 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
22271 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22272 * BBDB Whitelists::
22274 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22276 * ifile spam filtering::
22277 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22278 * Extending the spam elisp package::
22281 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22282 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22283 @cindex spam filtering
22284 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22285 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22288 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22290 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22291 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22292 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22293 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22298 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22300 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22301 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22302 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22303 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22304 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22308 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22310 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22311 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22312 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22316 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22318 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22319 customizing the group parameters or the
22320 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22321 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22322 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22326 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22328 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22329 customizing the group parameters or the
22330 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22331 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22332 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22333 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22334 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22338 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22339 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22340 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22341 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22342 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22344 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22345 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22346 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22347 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22349 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22350 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22351 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22352 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22353 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22354 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22356 @node BBDB Whitelists
22357 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22358 @cindex spam filtering
22359 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22360 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22363 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22365 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22366 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22367 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22368 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22369 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22370 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22371 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22375 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22377 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22378 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22379 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22380 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22381 classified as spammers.
22385 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22387 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22388 customizing the group parameters or the
22389 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22390 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22391 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22392 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22393 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22398 @subsubsection Blackholes
22399 @cindex spam filtering
22400 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22403 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22405 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22406 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22407 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22408 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22409 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22410 contains outdated servers.
22412 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22413 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22414 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
22415 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
22416 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
22417 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22421 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22423 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22427 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22429 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22430 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
22434 @defvar spam-use-dig
22436 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22437 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22441 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22442 ham processor for blackholes.
22444 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22445 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22446 @cindex spam filtering
22447 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22450 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22452 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22453 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22454 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22455 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22456 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22457 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22461 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22463 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22464 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22468 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22470 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22471 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22475 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22476 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22479 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22480 @cindex spam filtering
22481 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22484 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22486 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22489 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22490 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22491 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22492 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22493 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22494 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22496 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
22497 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
22500 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22501 processing will be turned off.
22503 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22507 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22509 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22510 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22511 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22512 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22513 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22514 installation documents for details.
22516 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22520 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22521 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22522 customizing the group parameters or the
22523 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22524 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22525 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22528 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22529 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22530 customizing the group parameters or the
22531 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22532 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22533 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22534 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22535 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22538 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22540 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22541 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22542 database directory.
22546 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
22547 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22548 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22549 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22550 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22551 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
22553 @node ifile spam filtering
22554 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
22555 @cindex spam filtering
22556 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
22559 @defvar spam-use-ifile
22561 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
22562 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
22566 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
22568 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
22569 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
22570 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
22574 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
22576 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
22577 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
22578 the default value of @samp{spam}.
22581 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
22583 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
22584 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
22588 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
22589 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22590 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
22591 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
22594 @node spam-stat spam filtering
22595 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
22596 @cindex spam filtering
22597 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
22601 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
22603 @defvar spam-use-stat
22605 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
22606 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
22610 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
22611 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22612 customizing the group parameters or the
22613 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22614 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22615 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
22618 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
22619 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22620 customizing the group parameters or the
22621 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22622 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22623 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
22624 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22625 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22628 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
22629 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
22630 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
22631 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
22634 @node Extending the spam elisp package
22635 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
22636 @cindex spam filtering
22637 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
22638 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
22640 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
22641 incoming mail, provide the following:
22649 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
22650 "True if blackbox should be used.")
22655 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
22657 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
22662 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
22663 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
22664 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
22666 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
22667 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
22668 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
22672 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
22679 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
22680 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22683 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22684 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22685 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22687 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22688 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22689 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22697 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22698 (spam-generic-register-routine
22699 ;; @r{the spam function}
22701 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22702 (when (stringp from)
22703 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22704 ;; @r{the ham function}
22707 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22708 (spam-generic-register-routine
22709 ;; @r{the spam function}
22711 ;; @r{the ham function}
22713 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22714 (when (stringp from)
22715 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22718 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22719 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22720 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22721 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22722 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22723 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22728 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22729 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22730 @cindex Paul Graham
22731 @cindex Graham, Paul
22732 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22733 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22734 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22736 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22737 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22738 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22739 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22740 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22741 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22742 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22743 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22744 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22747 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22748 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22749 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22750 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22751 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22752 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22753 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22754 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22756 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22757 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22758 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22759 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22760 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22763 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22764 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22765 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22768 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22769 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22771 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22772 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22773 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22774 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22775 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22777 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22778 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22779 per mail. Use the following:
22781 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22782 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22783 is treated as one spam mail.
22786 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22787 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22788 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22791 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22792 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22793 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22794 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22795 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22796 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22798 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
22799 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
22800 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22801 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22802 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22805 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
22806 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22807 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22808 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22811 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22812 reset the dictionary.
22814 @defun spam-stat-reset
22815 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22818 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22819 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22820 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22821 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22822 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22823 only non-spam mails.
22825 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22826 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22827 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22830 @defun spam-stat-save
22831 Save the dictionary.
22834 @defvar spam-stat-file
22835 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22836 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22839 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22840 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22842 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22843 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22846 (require 'spam-stat)
22850 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22853 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22854 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22855 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22856 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22858 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22859 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22860 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22861 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22864 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22865 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22869 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22870 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22873 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22874 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22875 expression are considered potential spam.
22878 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22879 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22880 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22884 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22885 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22886 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22887 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22888 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22891 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22892 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22893 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22897 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22898 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22899 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22900 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22901 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22905 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22906 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22907 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22908 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22913 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22914 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22916 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22918 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22919 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22920 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22923 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22924 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22925 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22928 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22929 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22930 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22931 already been processed as non-spam.
22934 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22935 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22936 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22937 been processed as spam.
22940 @defun spam-stat-save
22941 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22942 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22945 @defun spam-stat-load
22946 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22947 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22950 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22951 Return the spam score for a word.
22954 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22955 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22958 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22959 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22960 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22963 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22964 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22967 (require 'spam-stat)
22971 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22974 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22975 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22976 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22977 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22978 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22979 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22980 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22981 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22982 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22983 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22984 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22985 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22986 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22987 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22990 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22993 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22994 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22995 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22996 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22997 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22998 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23001 @node Various Various
23002 @section Various Various
23008 @item gnus-home-directory
23009 @vindex gnus-home-directory
23010 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
23011 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
23013 @item gnus-directory
23014 @vindex gnus-directory
23015 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
23016 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
23017 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
23019 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
23020 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
23021 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
23022 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
23024 @item gnus-default-directory
23025 @vindex gnus-default-directory
23026 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
23027 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
23028 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
23029 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
23030 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
23031 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
23034 @vindex gnus-verbose
23035 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
23036 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
23037 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
23038 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
23039 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
23041 @item gnus-verbose-backends
23042 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
23043 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
23044 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
23046 @item nnheader-max-head-length
23047 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
23048 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
23049 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
23050 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
23051 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
23052 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
23053 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
23054 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
23055 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
23057 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
23058 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
23059 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
23060 read when doing the operation described above.
23062 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23063 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23065 @cindex invalid characters in file names
23066 @cindex characters in file names
23067 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
23068 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
23069 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
23072 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23076 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
23077 Windows (phooey) systems.
23079 @item gnus-hidden-properties
23080 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
23081 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
23082 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
23083 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
23085 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
23086 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
23087 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
23088 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
23089 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
23091 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
23092 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
23093 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
23095 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23096 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23098 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
23099 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
23100 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
23101 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
23104 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23112 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23113 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23115 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23117 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
23123 Not because of victories @*
23126 but for the common sunshine,@*
23128 the largess of the spring.
23132 but for the day's work done@*
23133 as well as I was able;@*
23134 not for a seat upon the dais@*
23135 but at the common table.@*
23140 @chapter Appendices
23143 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
23144 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
23145 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
23146 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
23147 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
23148 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
23149 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
23150 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
23151 * Frequently Asked Questions::
23158 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
23160 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
23161 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
23162 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
23163 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
23164 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
23165 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
23172 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
23173 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
23175 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
23176 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
23177 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
23178 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
23179 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
23181 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
23182 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
23183 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
23184 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
23185 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
23186 appropriate name, don't you think?)
23188 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
23189 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
23190 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
23191 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
23194 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
23195 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
23196 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
23197 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
23198 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
23199 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
23200 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
23201 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
23202 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
23206 @node Gnus Versions
23207 @subsection Gnus Versions
23209 @cindex September Gnus
23211 @cindex Quassia Gnus
23212 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
23215 @cindex Gnus versions
23217 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
23218 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
23219 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
23221 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
23222 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
23224 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
23225 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
23227 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
23228 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
23230 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
23231 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
23234 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
23236 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
23237 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
23238 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
23239 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
23240 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
23241 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
23244 @node Other Gnus Versions
23245 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
23248 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
23249 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
23250 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
23251 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
23253 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
23254 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
23255 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
23256 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
23263 What's the point of Gnus?
23265 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
23266 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
23267 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
23268 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
23269 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
23270 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
23271 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
23272 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
23273 keep track of millions of people who post?
23275 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
23276 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
23277 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
23278 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
23279 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
23280 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
23281 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
23282 every one of you to explore and invent.
23284 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
23285 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
23288 @node Compatibility
23289 @subsection Compatibility
23291 @cindex compatibility
23292 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23293 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23294 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23299 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23303 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23306 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23309 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23310 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23311 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23312 important variables have their values copied into their global
23313 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23314 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23316 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23317 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23318 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23319 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23320 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23324 @cindex highlighting
23325 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23326 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23327 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23328 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23329 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23330 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23333 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23334 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23335 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23336 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23338 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23339 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23340 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23341 to stop doing it the old way.
23343 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23345 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23347 @cindex reporting bugs
23349 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23350 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23351 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23353 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23354 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23355 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23356 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23361 @subsection Conformity
23363 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23364 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23372 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23376 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23378 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23379 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23380 We do have some breaches to this one.
23386 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23387 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23388 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23389 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23390 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23395 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23396 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23397 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23398 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23400 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23402 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
23404 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23405 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23407 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23410 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
23411 published as a Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
23412 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
23413 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
23414 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
23417 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23418 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23419 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23420 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23422 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23423 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
23425 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23426 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
23427 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
23428 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
23429 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
23430 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
23431 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
23432 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
23436 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23437 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23442 @subsection Emacsen
23448 Gnus should work on :
23456 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
23460 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
23461 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
23462 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
23463 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
23464 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
23466 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
23467 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
23468 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
23472 @node Gnus Development
23473 @subsection Gnus Development
23475 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
23476 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
23477 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
23478 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
23479 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
23480 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
23481 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
23482 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
23484 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
23485 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
23486 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
23487 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
23488 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
23491 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
23492 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
23493 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
23494 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
23495 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
23497 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
23498 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
23499 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
23500 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
23501 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
23502 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
23503 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
23504 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
23505 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
23506 can't be assumed to do so.
23511 @subsection Contributors
23512 @cindex contributors
23514 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
23515 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
23516 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
23517 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
23518 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
23519 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
23520 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
23521 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
23522 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
23523 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
23525 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
23531 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
23534 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
23535 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
23536 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
23537 functionality and stuff.
23540 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
23541 well as numerous other things).
23544 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
23547 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
23550 Justin Sheehy--the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
23553 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
23556 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
23557 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
23560 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
23563 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
23564 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23567 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
23570 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
23573 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
23576 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
23579 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
23580 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
23583 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
23586 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
23589 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
23592 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
23596 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
23599 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
23602 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
23605 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
23606 well as autoconf support.
23610 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
23611 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
23613 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
23628 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
23630 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
23634 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
23644 Alexei V. Barantsev,
23659 Massimo Campostrini,
23664 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
23665 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
23669 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
23672 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
23678 Michael Welsh Duggan,
23683 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
23687 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
23695 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23697 Michelangelo Grigni,
23701 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23703 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
23705 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23712 François Felix Ingrand,
23713 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
23714 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23716 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23726 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23727 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23729 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23730 Thor Kristoffersen,
23733 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23751 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23752 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23759 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23764 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23768 John McClary Prevost,
23774 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23779 Christian von Roques,
23782 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23789 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23791 Randal L. Schwartz,
23805 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23810 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23830 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23831 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23832 (550kB and counting).
23834 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23837 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23838 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23842 @subsection New Features
23843 @cindex new features
23846 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23847 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23848 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23849 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23850 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23853 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23854 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23855 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23858 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23860 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23865 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23866 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23869 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
23870 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23873 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23876 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23877 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23878 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23881 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23882 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23883 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23884 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23887 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23888 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23891 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23892 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23893 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23896 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23897 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23900 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23901 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23902 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23905 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23906 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23907 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23910 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
23911 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
23914 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23915 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23918 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23919 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23922 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23923 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23926 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23927 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23930 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23931 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23934 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23937 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23938 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23941 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23942 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23945 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23946 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23949 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23952 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23953 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23956 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23960 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23964 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23965 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23968 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23974 @node September Gnus
23975 @subsubsection September Gnus
23979 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23983 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23988 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23989 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23993 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23994 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23998 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
24002 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
24003 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
24006 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
24010 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24013 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
24016 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
24019 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
24023 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
24024 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
24027 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
24031 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
24035 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
24039 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
24043 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
24046 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
24047 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
24050 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
24054 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
24055 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
24058 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
24061 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
24062 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
24063 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24066 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
24070 The Gnus cache is much faster.
24073 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
24077 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
24078 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24081 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
24082 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
24085 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
24086 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
24089 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
24090 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
24091 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
24094 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
24095 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
24098 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
24101 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24104 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
24107 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
24110 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
24111 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
24114 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24118 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
24121 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
24126 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
24129 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
24133 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24136 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
24140 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
24143 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
24146 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
24147 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24150 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
24151 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
24155 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
24156 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
24159 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
24163 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
24164 buffer to allow easier treatment.
24167 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
24170 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
24174 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
24178 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
24179 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
24182 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
24186 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
24187 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24190 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
24191 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24194 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
24198 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24201 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
24204 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
24210 @subsubsection Red Gnus
24212 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
24216 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
24223 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
24226 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
24227 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24230 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
24231 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
24235 Article washing status can be displayed in the
24236 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
24239 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
24242 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
24243 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
24246 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
24250 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
24251 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
24255 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
24256 Server Internals}).
24259 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
24263 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
24266 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
24267 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
24270 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
24271 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
24272 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
24275 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
24276 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24279 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
24280 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
24283 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
24287 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
24288 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24291 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
24292 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24295 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24299 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24302 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24306 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24307 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24310 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24311 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24314 A new command for reading collections of documents
24315 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24316 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24319 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24323 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
24324 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24327 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24328 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24329 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24332 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24333 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24337 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24341 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24345 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24350 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24354 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24358 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24359 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24362 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24368 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24370 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24375 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24376 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
24377 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
24380 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24381 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24382 group, which is created automatically.
24385 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24389 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24392 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24393 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24396 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24400 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24403 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24404 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24407 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24410 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
24411 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
24414 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24415 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24418 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24419 control over simplification.
24422 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24425 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24429 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24432 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24435 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24436 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24437 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24440 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24441 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24444 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
24448 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
24449 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
24452 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
24453 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
24456 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
24460 A history of where mails have been split is available.
24463 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
24466 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
24467 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
24470 A new function for citing in Message has been
24471 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
24474 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
24477 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
24481 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
24482 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
24485 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
24486 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
24489 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
24492 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
24496 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
24497 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
24499 New features in Gnus 5.8:
24504 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
24505 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
24507 If you used procmail like in
24510 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
24511 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
24512 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
24513 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
24516 this now has changed to
24520 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
24524 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
24525 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
24528 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
24529 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
24532 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
24533 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
24536 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
24537 called to position point.
24540 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
24541 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
24544 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
24545 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
24548 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
24549 subtly different manner.
24552 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
24553 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
24554 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
24557 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
24565 @section The Manual
24569 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
24570 either @code{texi2dvi}
24572 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
24573 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
24575 to get what you hold in your hands now.
24577 The following conventions have been used:
24582 This is a @samp{string}
24585 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
24588 This is a @file{file}
24591 This is a @code{symbol}
24595 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
24599 (setq flargnoze "yes")
24602 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
24605 (setq flumphel 'yes)
24608 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
24609 ever get them confused.
24613 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
24614 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
24615 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
24616 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
24617 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
24618 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
24619 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
24625 @node On Writing Manuals
24626 @section On Writing Manuals
24628 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
24629 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
24630 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
24631 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
24632 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
24633 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
24636 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
24637 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
24638 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
24641 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
24642 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
24647 @section Terminology
24649 @cindex terminology
24654 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
24655 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
24656 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
24657 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
24658 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
24662 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
24663 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
24664 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
24665 not posting, and replying is not following up.
24669 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
24673 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
24678 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
24679 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
24680 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
24681 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
24682 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a `front end' and a number of
24683 `back ends'. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
24684 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
24685 Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a back end and says things like
24686 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
24689 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
24690 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
24691 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
24692 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
24693 `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
24694 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
24696 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
24697 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
24698 access the articles.
24700 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24701 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24702 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24707 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24708 default, way of getting news.
24712 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24713 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24718 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24719 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24723 A message that has been posted as news.
24726 @cindex mail message
24727 A message that has been mailed.
24731 A mail message or news article
24735 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24740 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24745 A line from the head of an article.
24749 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24750 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
24752 @item @acronym{NOV}
24754 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24755 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24756 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24757 normal @sc{head} format.
24761 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24762 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24763 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24764 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24765 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24766 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24768 @item killed groups
24769 @cindex killed groups
24770 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24771 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24773 @item zombie groups
24774 @cindex zombie groups
24775 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24778 @cindex active file
24779 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24780 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24781 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24784 @cindex bogus groups
24785 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24786 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24787 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24790 @cindex activating groups
24791 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24792 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24793 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24797 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24799 @item select method
24800 @cindex select method
24801 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24804 @item virtual server
24805 @cindex virtual server
24806 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24807 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24808 whole is a virtual server.
24812 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24813 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24816 @item ephemeral groups
24817 @cindex ephemeral groups
24818 @cindex temporary groups
24819 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24820 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24821 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24824 @cindex solid groups
24825 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24826 group buffer are solid groups.
24828 @item sparse articles
24829 @cindex sparse articles
24830 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24831 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24835 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24836 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24840 @cindex thread root
24841 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24842 articles in the thread.
24846 An article that has responses.
24850 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24854 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24855 specified by RFC 1153.
24861 @node Customization
24862 @section Customization
24863 @cindex general customization
24865 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24866 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24867 for some quite common situations.
24870 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24871 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24872 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24873 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24877 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24878 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24880 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24881 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24882 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
24886 @item gnus-read-active-file
24887 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24888 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24889 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24890 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24891 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24893 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24894 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24895 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
24896 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24900 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24901 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24903 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24904 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24905 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24909 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24910 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24911 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24912 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24913 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24915 @item gnus-visible-headers
24916 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24917 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24918 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24919 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24921 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24923 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24924 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24925 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24928 @item gnus-use-full-window
24929 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24930 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24931 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24932 want to read them anyway.
24934 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24935 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24939 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24940 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24941 lines, which might save some time.
24945 @node Little Disk Space
24946 @subsection Little Disk Space
24949 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24950 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24954 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24955 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24956 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24957 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24960 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24961 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24962 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24963 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24966 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24967 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24968 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24969 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24970 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24976 @subsection Slow Machine
24977 @cindex slow machine
24979 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24980 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24982 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24983 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24985 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24986 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24987 summary buffer faster.
24991 @node Troubleshooting
24992 @section Troubleshooting
24993 @cindex troubleshooting
24995 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
25003 Make sure your computer is switched on.
25006 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
25007 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
25011 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
25012 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
25013 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
25014 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
25015 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
25018 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
25019 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
25022 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
25023 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
25024 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
25025 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
25026 something like that.
25029 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
25032 @cindex reporting bugs
25034 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25036 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
25037 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
25038 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
25039 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
25041 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
25042 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
25043 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
25044 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
25047 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
25048 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
25049 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
25050 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
25051 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
25052 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
25054 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
25055 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
25056 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
25060 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
25061 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
25064 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
25065 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
25066 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
25067 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
25068 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
25069 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
25070 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
25071 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
25072 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
25073 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
25074 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
25075 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
25076 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
25077 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
25082 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
25083 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
25084 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
25085 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
25086 helps isolating the real problem areas).
25088 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
25089 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
25090 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
25091 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
25092 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
25093 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
25094 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
25095 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
25096 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
25097 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
25098 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
25099 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
25100 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
25103 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
25104 @cindex ding mailing list
25105 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
25106 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
25107 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
25108 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
25112 @node Gnus Reference Guide
25113 @section Gnus Reference Guide
25115 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
25116 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
25117 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
25118 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
25121 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
25122 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
25123 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
25124 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
25125 and general methods of operation.
25128 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
25129 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
25130 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
25131 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
25132 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
25133 * Group Info:: The group info format.
25134 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
25135 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
25136 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
25140 @node Gnus Utility Functions
25141 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
25142 @cindex Gnus utility functions
25143 @cindex utility functions
25145 @cindex internal variables
25147 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
25148 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
25149 Below is a list of the most common ones.
25153 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
25154 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
25155 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
25157 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
25158 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
25159 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
25161 @item gnus-group-real-name
25162 @findex gnus-group-real-name
25163 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
25166 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
25167 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
25168 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
25169 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
25171 @item gnus-get-info
25172 @findex gnus-get-info
25173 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
25175 @item gnus-group-unread
25176 @findex gnus-group-unread
25177 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
25181 @findex gnus-active
25182 The active entry for @var{group}.
25184 @item gnus-set-active
25185 @findex gnus-set-active
25186 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
25188 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25189 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25190 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
25193 @item gnus-continuum-version
25194 @findex gnus-continuum-version
25195 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
25196 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
25199 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
25200 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
25201 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
25203 @item gnus-news-group-p
25204 @findex gnus-news-group-p
25205 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
25207 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25208 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25209 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
25211 @item gnus-server-to-method
25212 @findex gnus-server-to-method
25213 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
25215 @item gnus-server-equal
25216 @findex gnus-server-equal
25217 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
25219 @item gnus-group-native-p
25220 @findex gnus-group-native-p
25221 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
25223 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
25224 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
25225 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
25227 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
25228 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
25229 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
25231 @item group-group-find-parameter
25232 @findex group-group-find-parameter
25233 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
25234 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
25236 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
25237 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
25238 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
25240 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
25241 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
25242 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
25244 @item gnus-check-backend-function
25245 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
25246 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
25247 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
25250 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
25254 @item gnus-read-method
25255 @findex gnus-read-method
25256 Prompts the user for a select method.
25261 @node Back End Interface
25262 @subsection Back End Interface
25264 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
25265 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
25266 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
25267 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
25268 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
25269 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
25271 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
25272 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
25273 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
25274 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
25275 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
25276 been opened, the function should fail.
25278 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
25279 name. Take this example:
25283 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
25284 (nntp-port-number 4324))
25287 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
25288 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
25290 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
25291 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
25292 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
25294 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
25295 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
25296 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
25298 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
25299 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
25300 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
25301 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
25302 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
25303 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
25306 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
25307 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
25308 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
25309 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
25312 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
25313 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
25314 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
25315 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
25316 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
25317 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
25318 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
25319 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
25320 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
25321 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
25323 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
25324 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
25325 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
25326 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
25327 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
25328 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
25329 of numbers as long as possible.
25331 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
25332 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
25333 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
25335 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
25338 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
25341 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
25342 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
25343 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
25344 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
25345 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
25346 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
25350 @node Required Back End Functions
25351 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
25355 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
25357 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
25358 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
25359 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
25360 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
25362 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
25363 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
25364 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
25365 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
25367 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
25368 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
25369 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
25370 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
25371 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
25372 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
25373 number, do maximum fetches.
25375 Here's an example HEAD:
25378 221 1056 Article retrieved.
25379 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
25380 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
25381 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
25382 Subject: Re: Something very droll
25383 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
25384 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
25386 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
25387 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
25388 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
25392 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
25393 these in the data buffer.
25395 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
25399 head = error / valid-head
25400 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
25401 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
25402 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
25403 header = <text> eol
25407 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
25409 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
25410 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
25414 nov-buffer = *nov-line
25415 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
25416 field = <text except TAB>
25419 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
25423 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
25425 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
25426 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
25428 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
25429 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
25430 server. In fact, it should do so.
25432 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
25433 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
25436 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
25438 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
25439 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
25442 There should be no data returned.
25445 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
25447 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
25448 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
25449 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
25450 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
25452 There should be no data returned.
25455 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
25457 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
25458 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
25459 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
25460 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
25462 There should be no data returned.
25465 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
25467 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
25469 There should be no data returned.
25472 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
25474 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
25475 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
25476 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
25477 it would be nice if that were possible.
25479 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
25480 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
25481 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
25482 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
25483 into its article buffer.
25485 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
25486 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
25487 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
25488 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
25489 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
25490 on successful article retrieval.
25493 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
25495 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
25496 making @var{group} the current group.
25498 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
25501 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
25504 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
25507 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
25508 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
25509 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
25510 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
25511 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
25512 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
25513 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
25514 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
25515 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
25519 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
25520 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
25521 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
25525 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25527 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
25528 a no-op on most back ends.
25530 There should be no data returned.
25533 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
25535 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
25538 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
25541 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
25542 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
25545 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
25546 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
25547 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
25548 and the highest as 0.
25551 active-file = *active-line
25552 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
25554 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
25557 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
25558 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
25559 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
25562 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
25564 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
25565 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
25566 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
25567 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
25568 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
25569 clear if the posting could not be completed.
25571 There should be no result data from this function.
25576 @node Optional Back End Functions
25577 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
25581 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
25583 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
25584 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
25585 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
25587 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
25588 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
25589 former is in the same format as the data from
25590 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
25591 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
25594 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
25598 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
25600 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
25601 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
25602 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
25603 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
25604 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
25606 There should be no result data from this function.
25609 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
25611 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
25612 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
25613 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
25614 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
25615 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
25616 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
25617 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
25618 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
25620 There should be no result data from this function.
25623 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
25625 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
25626 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
25627 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
25628 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
25629 propagate the mark information to the server.
25631 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
25634 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
25637 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
25638 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
25639 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
25640 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
25641 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
25642 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
25643 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
25644 possible, not limit itself to these.
25646 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
25647 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
25648 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
25649 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
25651 An example action list:
25654 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
25655 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
25656 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
25659 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
25660 mark on (currently not used for anything).
25662 There should be no result data from this function.
25664 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
25666 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
25667 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
25668 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
25669 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
25670 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
25672 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
25673 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
25674 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
25677 There should be no result data from this function.
25680 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
25682 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
25683 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
25684 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
25685 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
25686 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
25687 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
25688 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
25689 local if that's practical.
25691 There should be no result data from this function.
25694 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
25696 The result data from this function should be a description of
25700 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
25702 description = <text>
25705 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25707 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25708 groups available on the server.
25711 description-buffer = *description-line
25715 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25717 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25718 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25719 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25720 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25721 in the active buffer format.
25723 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25724 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25725 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25726 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25727 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25728 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25729 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25732 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25734 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25736 There should be no return data.
25739 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25741 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25742 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25743 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25744 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25745 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25748 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25751 There should be no result data returned.
25754 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
25756 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25757 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25759 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25760 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25761 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25762 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25763 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25764 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25766 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25767 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25770 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25771 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25773 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25774 article for that group.
25776 There should be no data returned.
25779 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25781 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25782 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25783 this function in short order.
25785 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25786 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25788 There should be no data returned.
25791 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25793 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25794 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25796 There should be no data returned.
25799 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25801 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25802 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25803 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25805 There should be no data returned.
25808 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25810 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25811 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25813 There should be no data returned.
25818 @node Error Messaging
25819 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25821 @findex nnheader-report
25822 @findex nnheader-get-report
25823 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25824 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25825 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25826 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25827 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25828 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25831 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25833 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25836 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25837 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25838 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25839 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25841 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25842 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25843 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25846 @node Writing New Back Ends
25847 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25849 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25850 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25851 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25852 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25853 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25856 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25857 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25858 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25860 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25861 package called @code{nnoo}.
25863 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25864 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25870 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25871 parameters. For instance:
25874 (nnoo-declare nndir
25878 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25879 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25882 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25883 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25884 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25886 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25887 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25888 a function in those back ends.
25891 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25892 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25893 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25896 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25897 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25898 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25900 @item nnoo-define-basics
25901 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25905 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25909 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25910 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25911 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25913 @item nnoo-map-functions
25914 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25915 functions from the parent back ends.
25918 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25919 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25920 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25923 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25924 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25925 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25926 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25929 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25930 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25931 haven't already been defined.
25937 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25941 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25942 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25943 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25948 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25951 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
25952 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
25956 (require 'nnheader)
25960 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25962 (nnoo-declare nndir
25965 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25966 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25967 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25969 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25970 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25973 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25975 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25976 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25977 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25979 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25980 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25982 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
25984 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25986 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25987 (setq nndir-directory
25988 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25990 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25991 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25992 (push `(nndir-current-group
25993 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25994 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25996 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25997 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25999 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
26001 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
26002 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
26003 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
26004 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
26005 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
26009 nnmh-status-message
26011 nnmh-request-newgroups))
26017 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
26018 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
26020 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
26021 @findex gnus-declare-backend
26022 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
26023 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
26024 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
26026 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
26027 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
26032 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
26035 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
26037 The abilities can be:
26041 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
26043 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
26045 This back end supports both mail and news.
26047 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
26050 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
26051 articles and groups.
26053 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
26054 true for almost all back ends.
26055 @item prompt-address
26056 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
26057 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
26058 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
26062 @node Mail-like Back Ends
26063 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
26065 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
26066 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
26067 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
26068 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
26071 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
26072 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
26073 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
26076 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
26077 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
26080 This function takes four parameters.
26084 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
26087 @item exit-function
26088 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
26090 @item temp-directory
26091 Where the temporary files should be stored.
26094 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
26095 performed for one group only.
26098 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
26099 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
26100 find the article number assigned to this article.
26102 The function also uses the following variables:
26103 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
26104 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
26105 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
26106 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
26110 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
26111 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
26115 @node Score File Syntax
26116 @subsection Score File Syntax
26118 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
26119 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
26120 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
26122 Here's a typical score file:
26126 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
26133 BNF definition of a score file:
26136 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
26137 element = rule / atom
26138 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
26139 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
26140 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
26141 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
26143 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
26144 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
26145 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
26146 date-header = "date"
26147 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26148 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26149 score = "nil" / <integer>
26150 date = "nil" / <natural number>
26151 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
26152 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
26153 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
26154 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
26155 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26156 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26157 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
26158 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26159 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
26160 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
26161 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
26162 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
26163 exclude-files / read-only / touched
26164 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
26165 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
26166 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
26167 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
26168 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
26169 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
26170 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
26171 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
26172 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
26173 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
26174 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
26175 eval = "eval" space <form>
26176 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
26179 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
26182 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
26183 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
26184 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
26185 one looong line, then that's ok.
26187 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
26188 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26192 @subsection Headers
26194 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
26195 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
26196 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
26197 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
26199 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
26200 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
26201 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
26202 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
26203 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
26204 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
26205 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
26207 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
26208 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
26209 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
26210 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
26211 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
26213 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
26214 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
26220 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
26221 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
26223 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
26224 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
26225 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
26226 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
26228 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
26232 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
26235 is transformed into
26238 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
26241 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
26242 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
26245 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
26248 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
26249 is slightly tricky:
26252 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
26258 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
26261 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
26267 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
26274 and is equal to the previous range.
26276 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
26277 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
26278 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
26282 range = simple-range / normal-range
26283 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
26284 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
26285 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
26286 number *[ " " contents ]
26289 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
26290 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
26291 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
26292 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
26293 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
26298 @subsection Group Info
26300 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
26301 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
26302 describes the group.
26304 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
26305 second is a more complex one:
26308 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
26310 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
26311 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
26313 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
26316 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
26317 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
26318 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
26319 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
26320 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
26321 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
26322 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
26323 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
26324 this section is about.
26326 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
26327 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
26328 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
26330 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
26333 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
26334 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
26335 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26336 group = quote <string> quote
26337 ralevel = rank / level
26338 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26339 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
26340 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26342 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
26343 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
26344 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
26345 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
26348 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
26349 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
26352 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
26353 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
26356 @item gnus-info-group
26357 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
26358 @findex gnus-info-group
26359 @findex gnus-info-set-group
26360 Get/set the group name.
26362 @item gnus-info-rank
26363 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
26364 @findex gnus-info-rank
26365 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
26366 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
26368 @item gnus-info-level
26369 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
26370 @findex gnus-info-level
26371 @findex gnus-info-set-level
26372 Get/set the group level.
26374 @item gnus-info-score
26375 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
26376 @findex gnus-info-score
26377 @findex gnus-info-set-score
26378 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
26380 @item gnus-info-read
26381 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
26382 @findex gnus-info-read
26383 @findex gnus-info-set-read
26384 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
26386 @item gnus-info-marks
26387 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
26388 @findex gnus-info-marks
26389 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
26390 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
26392 @item gnus-info-method
26393 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
26394 @findex gnus-info-method
26395 @findex gnus-info-set-method
26396 Get/set the group select method.
26398 @item gnus-info-params
26399 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
26400 @findex gnus-info-params
26401 @findex gnus-info-set-params
26402 Get/set the group parameters.
26405 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
26406 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
26408 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
26409 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
26410 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
26411 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
26414 @node Extended Interactive
26415 @subsection Extended Interactive
26416 @cindex interactive
26417 @findex gnus-interactive
26419 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
26420 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
26421 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
26424 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
26425 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
26430 The best thing to do would have been to implement
26431 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
26432 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
26433 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
26434 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
26435 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
26436 @code{interactive}.
26438 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
26443 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
26444 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
26448 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
26449 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
26450 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
26453 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
26457 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
26461 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
26467 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
26468 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
26472 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
26473 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
26474 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
26476 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
26477 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
26478 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
26479 Gnus, that's very useful.
26481 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
26482 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
26483 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
26484 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
26485 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
26486 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
26487 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
26488 following function:
26491 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
26495 (,function ,@@args))
26499 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
26500 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
26501 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
26504 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
26505 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
26506 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
26508 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
26509 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
26510 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
26513 @node Various File Formats
26514 @subsection Various File Formats
26517 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
26518 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
26522 @node Active File Format
26523 @subsubsection Active File Format
26525 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
26526 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
26529 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
26532 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
26533 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
26534 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
26535 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
26536 no.general 1000 900 y
26539 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
26542 active = *group-line
26543 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
26544 group = <non-white-space string>
26546 high-number = <non-negative integer>
26547 low-number = <positive integer>
26548 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
26551 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
26552 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
26555 @node Newsgroups File Format
26556 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
26558 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
26559 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
26560 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
26563 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
26564 Here's the definition:
26568 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
26569 group = <non-white-space string>
26571 description = <string>
26576 @node Emacs for Heathens
26577 @section Emacs for Heathens
26579 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
26580 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
26581 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
26582 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
26583 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
26584 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
26585 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
26589 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
26590 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
26595 @subsection Keystrokes
26599 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
26602 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
26605 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
26606 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
26607 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
26608 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
26609 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
26610 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
26612 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
26613 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
26614 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
26615 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
26616 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
26617 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
26618 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
26620 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
26621 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
26622 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
26623 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
26624 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
26625 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
26626 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
26628 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
26629 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
26630 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
26631 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
26632 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
26638 @subsection Emacs Lisp
26640 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
26641 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
26642 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
26643 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
26645 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
26646 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
26647 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
26648 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
26649 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
26650 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
26651 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
26654 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
26655 write the following:
26658 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
26661 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
26662 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
26663 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
26666 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
26667 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
26668 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
26669 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
26670 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
26672 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
26673 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
26674 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
26678 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
26682 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
26685 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
26686 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
26689 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
26692 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
26693 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
26696 @include gnus-faq.texi
26716 @c Local Variables:
26718 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26720 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26721 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26722 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26723 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26724 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref