4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
293 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
297 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
298 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
299 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
300 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
301 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
302 License'' in the Emacs manual.
304 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
305 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
306 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
308 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
309 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
310 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
311 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
319 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
321 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
322 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
325 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
326 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
327 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
328 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
329 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
330 License'' in the Emacs manual.
332 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
333 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
334 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
336 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
337 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
338 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
339 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
345 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
350 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
353 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
355 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
356 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
357 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
358 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
359 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
360 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
361 License'' in the Emacs manual.
363 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
364 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
365 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
367 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
368 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
369 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
370 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
379 @top The gnus Newsreader
383 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
384 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
385 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
388 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
389 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
390 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
391 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
392 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
393 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
395 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
406 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
407 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
409 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
410 being accused of plagiarism:
412 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
413 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
414 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
415 can even read news with it!
417 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
418 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
419 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
420 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
421 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
427 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
428 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
429 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
430 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
431 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
432 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
433 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
434 * Various:: General purpose settings.
435 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
436 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
437 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
438 * Key Index:: Key Index.
440 Other related manuals
442 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
443 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
444 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
445 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
448 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
452 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
453 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
454 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
455 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
456 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
457 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
458 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
459 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
460 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
461 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
462 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
466 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
467 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
468 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
472 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
473 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
474 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
475 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
476 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
477 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
478 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
479 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
480 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
481 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
482 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
483 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
484 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
485 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
486 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
487 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
488 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
492 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
493 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
494 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
498 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
499 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
500 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
501 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
502 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
506 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
507 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
508 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
509 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
510 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
514 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
515 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
516 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
517 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
518 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
519 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
520 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
521 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
522 * Threading:: How threads are made.
523 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
524 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
525 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
526 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
527 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
528 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
529 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
530 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
531 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
532 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
533 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
534 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
535 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
536 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
537 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
538 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
539 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
540 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
541 or reselecting the current group.
542 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
543 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
544 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
545 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
547 Summary Buffer Format
549 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
550 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
551 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
552 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
556 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
557 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
559 Reply, Followup and Post
561 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
562 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
563 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
564 * Canceling and Superseding::
568 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
569 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
570 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
572 * Generic Marking Commands::
573 * Setting Process Marks::
577 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
578 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
579 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
583 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
584 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
586 Customizing Threading
588 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
589 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
590 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
591 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
595 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
596 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
597 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
598 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
599 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
600 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
604 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
605 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
606 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
610 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
611 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
612 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
613 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
614 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
615 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
616 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
617 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
618 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
619 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
621 Alternative Approaches
623 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
624 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
626 Various Summary Stuff
628 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
629 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
630 * Summary Generation Commands::
631 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
635 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
636 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
637 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
638 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
639 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
643 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
644 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
645 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
646 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
647 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
648 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
649 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
650 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
654 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
655 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
656 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
657 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
658 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
659 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
660 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
661 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
665 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
666 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
667 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
668 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
669 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
670 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
671 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
675 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
676 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
680 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
681 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
682 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
686 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
687 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
688 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
689 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
690 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
691 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
692 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
693 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
694 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
695 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
696 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
697 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
698 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
702 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
703 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
704 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
706 Choosing a Mail Back End
708 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
709 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
710 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
711 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
712 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
713 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
718 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
719 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
720 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
721 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
722 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
723 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
727 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
728 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
729 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
730 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
731 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
735 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
736 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
737 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
738 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
739 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
743 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
747 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
748 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
749 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
753 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
754 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
758 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
759 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
760 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
761 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
762 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
763 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
764 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
765 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
766 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
767 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
768 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
769 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
773 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
774 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
775 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
779 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
780 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
781 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
785 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
786 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
787 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
788 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
789 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
790 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
791 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
792 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
793 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
794 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
795 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
796 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
797 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
798 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
799 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
800 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
801 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
805 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
806 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
807 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
808 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
812 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
813 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
814 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
818 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
819 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
820 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
821 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
822 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
823 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
824 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
825 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
826 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
827 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
828 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
829 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
830 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
831 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
832 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
833 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
834 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
835 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
836 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
840 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
841 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
842 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
843 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
844 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
845 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
846 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
847 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
851 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
852 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
853 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
854 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
858 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
859 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
860 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
861 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
862 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
863 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
867 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
868 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
869 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
870 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
871 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
872 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
873 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
874 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
875 * Frequently Asked Questions::
879 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
880 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
881 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
882 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
883 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
884 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
885 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
886 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
887 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
891 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
892 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
893 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
894 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
895 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
899 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
900 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
901 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
902 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
906 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
907 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
908 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
909 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
910 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
911 * Group Info:: The group info format.
912 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
913 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
914 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
918 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
919 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
920 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
921 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
922 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
923 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
927 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
928 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
932 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
933 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
939 @chapter Starting gnus
944 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
945 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
948 @findex gnus-other-frame
949 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
950 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
951 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
953 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
954 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
955 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
957 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
958 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
961 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
962 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
963 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
964 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
965 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
966 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
967 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
968 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
969 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
970 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
971 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
975 @node Finding the News
976 @section Finding the News
979 @vindex gnus-select-method
981 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
982 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
983 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
984 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
987 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
988 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
991 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
994 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
997 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1000 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1001 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1002 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1004 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1006 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1007 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1008 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1009 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1010 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1011 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1013 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1014 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1015 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1016 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1018 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1019 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1020 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1021 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1022 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1023 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1024 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1025 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1026 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1029 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1031 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1032 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1033 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1034 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1035 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1036 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1038 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1040 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1041 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1042 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1043 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1044 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1045 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1048 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1049 you would typically set this variable to
1052 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1056 @node The First Time
1057 @section The First Time
1058 @cindex first time usage
1060 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1061 be subscribed by default.
1063 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1064 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1065 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1066 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1069 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1070 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1071 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1073 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1074 help you with most common problems.
1076 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1077 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1081 @node The Server is Down
1082 @section The Server is Down
1083 @cindex server errors
1085 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1086 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1087 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1089 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1090 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1091 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1092 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1093 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1094 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1095 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1097 @findex gnus-no-server
1098 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1100 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1101 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1102 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1103 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1104 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1105 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1106 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1110 @section Slave Gnusae
1113 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1114 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1115 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1116 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1118 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1119 @code{.newsrc} file.
1121 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1122 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1123 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1124 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1125 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1126 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1127 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1129 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1130 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1131 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1132 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1133 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1134 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1135 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1136 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1138 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1139 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1141 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1142 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1143 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1144 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1145 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1147 @node Fetching a Group
1148 @section Fetching a Group
1149 @cindex fetching a group
1151 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1152 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1153 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1154 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1155 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1156 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1162 @cindex subscription
1164 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1165 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1166 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1167 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1168 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1169 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1170 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1171 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1172 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1175 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1176 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1177 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1181 @node Checking New Groups
1182 @subsection Checking New Groups
1184 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1185 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1186 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1187 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1188 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1189 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1190 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1191 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1192 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1193 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1195 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1196 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1197 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1198 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1199 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1200 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1201 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1202 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1203 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1204 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1205 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1207 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1208 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1209 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1210 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1211 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1212 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1215 @node Subscription Methods
1216 @subsection Subscription Methods
1218 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1219 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1220 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1222 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1223 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1225 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1229 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1230 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1231 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1232 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1233 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1235 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1236 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1237 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1238 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1242 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1244 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1245 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1246 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1247 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1248 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1249 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1250 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1251 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1252 up. Or something like that.
1254 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1255 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1256 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1257 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1258 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1260 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1261 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1262 Kill all new groups.
1264 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1265 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1266 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1267 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1268 topic parameter that looks like
1274 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1277 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1282 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1283 A closely related variable is
1284 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1285 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1286 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1287 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1290 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1291 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1292 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1293 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1296 @node Filtering New Groups
1297 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1299 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1300 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1301 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1304 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1307 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1308 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1309 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1310 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1311 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1312 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1313 subscribing these groups.
1314 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1315 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1317 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1318 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1319 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1320 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1321 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1322 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1323 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1324 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1326 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1327 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1328 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1329 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1330 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1331 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1332 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1333 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1334 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1335 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1338 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1339 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1342 @node Changing Servers
1343 @section Changing Servers
1344 @cindex changing servers
1346 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1347 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1348 very flaky and you want to use another.
1350 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1351 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1355 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1356 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1357 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1358 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1361 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1362 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1363 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1364 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1366 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1367 @findex gnus-change-server
1368 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1369 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1370 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1371 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1372 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1374 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1375 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1376 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1377 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1378 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1380 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1381 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1382 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1383 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1384 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1385 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1387 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1388 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1389 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1390 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1392 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1393 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1394 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1395 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1396 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1397 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1398 cache for all groups).
1402 @section Startup Files
1403 @cindex startup files
1408 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1409 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1411 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1412 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1413 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1414 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1415 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1416 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1417 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1419 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1420 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1421 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1422 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1423 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1424 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1426 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1427 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1428 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1429 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1430 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1431 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1432 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1433 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1434 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1435 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1437 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1438 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1439 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1440 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1441 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1442 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1443 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1444 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1445 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1446 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1447 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1448 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1450 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1451 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1452 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1453 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1455 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1456 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1457 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1458 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1459 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1460 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1461 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1462 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1463 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1464 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1467 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1468 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1470 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1471 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1474 @vindex gnus-init-file
1475 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1476 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1477 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1478 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1479 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1480 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1481 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1482 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1483 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1484 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1490 @cindex dribble file
1493 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1494 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1495 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1496 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1497 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1500 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1501 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1504 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1505 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1506 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1508 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1509 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1510 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1511 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1512 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1513 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1515 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1516 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1517 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1520 @node The Active File
1521 @section The Active File
1523 @cindex ignored groups
1525 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1526 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1527 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1529 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1530 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1531 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1532 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1533 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1534 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1535 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1538 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1539 @c if you set it to anything else.
1541 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1543 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1544 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1545 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1547 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1548 you actually subscribe to.
1550 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1551 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1552 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1553 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1555 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1556 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1557 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1558 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1559 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1560 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1562 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1563 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1564 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1567 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1568 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1569 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1570 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1571 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1572 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1574 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1575 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1577 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1578 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1580 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1581 secondary select methods.
1584 @node Startup Variables
1585 @section Startup Variables
1589 @item gnus-load-hook
1590 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1591 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1592 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1593 times you start gnus.
1595 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1597 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1599 @item gnus-startup-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1601 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1603 @item gnus-started-hook
1604 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1605 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1608 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1609 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1610 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1611 generating the group buffer.
1613 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1614 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1615 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1616 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1617 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1618 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1619 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1620 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1622 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1623 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1624 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1625 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1626 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1627 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1629 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1630 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1631 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1633 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1634 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1635 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1637 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1638 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1639 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1640 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1646 @chapter Group Buffer
1647 @cindex group buffer
1649 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1651 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1652 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1653 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1654 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1655 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1656 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1657 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1658 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1659 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1660 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1661 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1662 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1663 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1664 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1665 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1666 @c human rights at 9...
1669 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1670 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1671 long as gnus is active.
1675 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1676 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1677 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1678 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1679 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1680 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1681 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1682 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1688 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1689 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1690 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1691 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1692 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1693 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1694 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1695 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1696 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1697 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1698 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1699 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1700 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1701 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1702 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1703 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1704 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1708 @node Group Buffer Format
1709 @section Group Buffer Format
1712 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1713 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1714 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1718 @node Group Line Specification
1719 @subsection Group Line Specification
1720 @cindex group buffer format
1722 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1723 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1725 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1728 25: news.announce.newusers
1729 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1734 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1735 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1736 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1737 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1739 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1740 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1741 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1742 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1743 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1744 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1746 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1748 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1749 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1750 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1751 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1752 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1754 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1755 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1756 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1758 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1763 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1766 Whether the group is subscribed.
1769 Level of subscribedness.
1772 Number of unread articles.
1775 Number of dormant articles.
1778 Number of ticked articles.
1781 Number of read articles.
1784 Number of unseen articles.
1787 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1788 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1790 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1791 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1792 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1793 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1794 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1795 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1796 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1797 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1800 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1803 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1812 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1813 comment element in the group parameters.
1816 Newsgroup description.
1819 @samp{m} if moderated.
1822 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1828 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1834 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1838 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1841 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1842 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1843 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1844 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1845 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1848 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1850 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1854 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1857 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1861 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1862 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1863 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1864 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1865 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1866 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1871 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1872 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1873 group, or a bogus native group.
1876 @node Group Modeline Specification
1877 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1878 @cindex group modeline
1880 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1881 The mode line can be changed by setting
1882 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1883 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1887 The native news server.
1889 The native select method.
1893 @node Group Highlighting
1894 @subsection Group Highlighting
1895 @cindex highlighting
1896 @cindex group highlighting
1898 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1899 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1900 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1901 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1902 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1904 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1908 (cond (window-system
1909 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1910 (defface my-group-face-1
1911 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1912 (defface my-group-face-2
1913 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1914 (defface my-group-face-3
1915 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1916 (defface my-group-face-4
1917 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1918 (defface my-group-face-5
1919 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1921 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1922 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1923 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1924 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1925 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1926 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1929 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1931 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1938 The number of unread articles in the group.
1942 Whether the group is a mail group.
1944 The level of the group.
1946 The score of the group.
1948 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1950 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1951 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1953 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1954 topic being inserted.
1957 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1958 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1959 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1961 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1962 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1963 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1964 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1965 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1968 @node Group Maneuvering
1969 @section Group Maneuvering
1970 @cindex group movement
1972 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1973 expected, hopefully.
1979 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1980 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1981 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1987 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1988 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1989 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1993 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1994 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1998 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1999 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2004 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2005 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2009 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2010 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2011 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2014 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2020 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2021 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2022 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2027 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2028 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2029 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2033 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2034 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2035 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2038 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2039 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2040 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2041 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2045 @node Selecting a Group
2046 @section Selecting a Group
2047 @cindex group selection
2052 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2053 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2054 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2055 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2056 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2057 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2058 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2059 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2060 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2061 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2063 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2064 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2065 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2067 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2068 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2073 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2074 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2075 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2076 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2077 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2081 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2082 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2083 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2084 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2085 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2086 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2087 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2088 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2089 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2090 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2093 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2094 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2095 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2096 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2097 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2100 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2101 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2102 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2103 doing any processing of its contents
2104 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2105 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2106 manner will have no permanent effects.
2110 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2111 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2112 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2113 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2114 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2115 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2116 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2117 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2120 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2121 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2122 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2123 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2124 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2125 Which article this is is controlled by the
2126 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2132 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2135 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2138 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2140 @item unseen-or-unread
2141 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2142 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2146 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2150 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2151 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2153 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2154 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2155 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2156 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2160 @node Subscription Commands
2161 @section Subscription Commands
2162 @cindex subscription
2170 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2171 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2172 Toggle subscription to the current group
2173 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2179 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2180 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2181 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2182 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2188 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2189 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2190 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2197 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2200 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2201 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2202 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2203 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2204 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2210 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2211 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2215 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2216 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2219 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2220 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2221 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2222 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2223 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2224 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2225 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2226 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2227 @file{.newsrc} file.
2231 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2241 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2242 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2243 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2244 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2245 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2246 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2251 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2252 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2253 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2257 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2258 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2259 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2261 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2262 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2263 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2264 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2265 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2266 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2273 @section Group Levels
2277 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2278 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2279 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2280 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2281 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2283 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2289 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2290 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2291 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2292 prompted for a level.
2295 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2296 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2297 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2298 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2299 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2300 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2301 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2302 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2303 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2304 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2305 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2306 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2307 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2308 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2309 reasons of efficiency.
2311 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2312 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2314 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2315 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2316 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2317 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2318 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2319 groups are hidden, in a way.
2321 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2322 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2323 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2324 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2325 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2326 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2328 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2329 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2330 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2331 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2332 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2333 list of killed groups.)
2335 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2336 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2337 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2339 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2340 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2341 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2342 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2343 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2344 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2345 relevant valid ranges.
2347 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2348 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2349 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2350 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2351 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2352 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2355 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2356 one with the best level.
2358 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2359 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2360 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2363 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2364 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2365 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2366 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2369 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2370 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2371 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2372 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2374 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2375 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2376 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2377 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2378 to 5. The default is 6.
2382 @section Group Score
2387 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2388 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2389 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2392 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2393 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2394 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2395 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2396 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2397 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2398 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2399 least significant part.))
2401 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2402 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2403 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2404 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2405 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2406 action after each summary exit, you can add
2407 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2408 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2409 slow things down somewhat.
2412 @node Marking Groups
2413 @section Marking Groups
2414 @cindex marking groups
2416 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2417 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2418 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2419 bidding on those groups.
2421 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2422 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2423 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2431 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2432 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2438 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2439 Remove the mark from the current group
2440 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2444 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2445 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2449 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2450 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2454 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2455 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2460 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2461 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2464 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2466 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2467 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2468 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2469 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2470 the command to be executed.
2473 @node Foreign Groups
2474 @section Foreign Groups
2475 @cindex foreign groups
2477 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2478 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2479 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2480 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2487 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2488 @cindex making groups
2489 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2490 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2491 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2495 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2496 @cindex renaming groups
2497 Rename the current group to something else
2498 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2499 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2505 @findex gnus-group-customize
2506 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2511 @cindex renaming groups
2512 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2513 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2518 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2519 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2523 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2524 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2525 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2529 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2531 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2532 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2538 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2542 @cindex (ding) archive
2543 @cindex archive group
2544 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2545 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2546 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2547 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2548 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2549 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2550 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2554 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2556 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2557 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2558 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2559 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2563 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2565 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2566 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2567 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2571 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2572 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2574 Make a group based on some file or other
2575 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2576 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2577 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2578 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2579 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2580 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2581 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2582 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2583 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2587 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2588 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2589 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2590 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2594 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2598 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2599 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2600 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2601 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2602 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2603 @xref{Web Searches}.
2605 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2606 to a particular group by using a match string like
2607 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2610 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2611 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2612 This function will delete the current group
2613 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2614 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2615 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2616 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2617 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2621 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2622 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2623 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2627 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2628 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2629 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2632 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2635 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2636 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2637 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2638 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2639 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2640 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2644 @node Group Parameters
2645 @section Group Parameters
2646 @cindex group parameters
2648 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2649 Here's an example group parameter list:
2652 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2656 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2657 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2658 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2659 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2661 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2662 is an alist of regexps and values.
2664 The following group parameters can be used:
2669 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2672 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2675 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2676 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2677 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2678 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2679 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2681 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2682 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2683 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2684 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2685 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2686 list address instead.
2688 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2692 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2695 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2698 It is totally ignored
2699 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2700 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2702 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2703 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2704 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2705 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2706 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2708 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2709 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2710 sending the message.
2712 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2713 @cindex Mail List Groups
2714 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2715 entering summary buffer.
2717 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2722 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2723 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2724 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2725 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2726 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2727 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2729 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2730 directly uses this group parameter.
2734 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2735 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2736 of whether it has any unread articles.
2738 @item broken-reply-to
2739 @cindex broken-reply-to
2740 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2741 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2742 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2743 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2744 broken behavior. So there!
2748 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2749 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2753 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2754 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2755 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2760 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2761 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2762 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2763 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2764 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2765 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2766 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2767 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2768 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2772 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2773 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2774 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2776 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2779 @cindex total-expire
2780 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2781 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2782 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2783 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2786 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2790 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2791 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2792 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2793 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2794 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2795 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2796 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2799 @cindex score file group parameter
2800 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2801 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2802 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2805 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2806 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2807 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2808 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2811 @cindex admin-address
2812 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2813 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2814 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2815 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2819 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2820 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2824 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2827 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2828 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2831 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2835 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2837 Here are some examples:
2841 Display only unread articles.
2844 Display everything except expirable articles.
2846 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2847 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2851 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2852 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2853 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2854 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2855 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2859 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2860 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2861 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2865 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2866 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2867 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2871 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2872 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2873 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2875 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2877 @item ignored-charsets
2878 @cindex ignored-charset
2879 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2880 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2881 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2883 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2886 @cindex posting-style
2887 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2888 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2889 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2890 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2891 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2893 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2894 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2895 like this in the group parameters:
2900 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2901 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2906 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2907 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2911 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2912 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2913 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2914 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2915 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2919 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2920 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2921 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2922 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2924 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2925 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2926 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2927 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2930 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2931 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2935 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2938 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2939 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2940 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2941 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2942 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2943 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2944 @code{eval}ed there.
2946 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2947 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2948 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2949 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2950 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2951 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2952 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2953 parameters for the group.
2956 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2957 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2958 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2959 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2960 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2964 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2965 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2966 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2967 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2968 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2970 @vindex gnus-parameters
2971 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2972 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2976 (setq gnus-parameters
2978 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2979 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2980 (gnus-summary-line-format
2981 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2985 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2989 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2993 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2996 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2997 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3000 @node Listing Groups
3001 @section Listing Groups
3002 @cindex group listing
3004 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3012 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3013 List all groups that have unread articles
3014 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3015 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3016 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3017 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3024 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3025 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3026 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3027 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3028 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3029 unsubscribed groups).
3033 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3034 List all unread groups on a specific level
3035 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3036 with no unread articles.
3040 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3041 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3042 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3043 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3048 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3049 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3053 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3054 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3055 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3059 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3060 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3064 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3065 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3066 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3067 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3068 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3069 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3070 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3071 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3075 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3076 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3077 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3081 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3082 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3083 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3087 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3088 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3092 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3093 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3097 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3098 List groups limited within the current selection
3099 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3103 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3104 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3108 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3109 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3113 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3114 @cindex visible group parameter
3115 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3116 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3117 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3118 get the same effect.
3120 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3121 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3122 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3123 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3124 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3127 @node Sorting Groups
3128 @section Sorting Groups
3129 @cindex sorting groups
3131 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3132 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3133 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3134 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3135 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3136 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3141 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3142 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3143 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3145 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3147 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3149 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3150 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3151 Sort by group level.
3153 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3154 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3155 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3157 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3159 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3160 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3162 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3163 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3164 Sort by number of unread articles.
3166 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3167 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3168 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3170 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3172 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3177 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3178 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3182 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3183 some sorting criteria:
3187 @kindex G S a (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3189 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3193 @kindex G S u (Group)
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3195 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3199 @kindex G S l (Group)
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3201 Sort the group buffer by group level
3202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3205 @kindex G S v (Group)
3206 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3207 Sort the group buffer by group score
3208 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3211 @kindex G S r (Group)
3212 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3213 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3214 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3217 @kindex G S m (Group)
3218 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3219 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3220 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3223 @kindex G S n (Group)
3224 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3225 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3226 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3230 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3231 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3233 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3234 commands will sort in reverse order.
3236 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3240 @kindex G P a (Group)
3241 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3242 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3243 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3246 @kindex G P u (Group)
3247 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3248 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3249 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3252 @kindex G P l (Group)
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3254 Sort the groups by group level
3255 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3258 @kindex G P v (Group)
3259 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3260 Sort the groups by group score
3261 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3264 @kindex G P r (Group)
3265 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3266 Sort the groups by group rank
3267 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3270 @kindex G P m (Group)
3271 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3272 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3273 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3276 @kindex G P n (Group)
3277 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3278 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3279 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3282 @kindex G P s (Group)
3283 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3284 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3288 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3292 @node Group Maintenance
3293 @section Group Maintenance
3294 @cindex bogus groups
3299 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3300 Find bogus groups and delete them
3301 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3305 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3306 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3307 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3308 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3309 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3313 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3314 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3315 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3316 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3317 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3318 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3321 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3322 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3323 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3324 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3329 @node Browse Foreign Server
3330 @section Browse Foreign Server
3331 @cindex foreign servers
3332 @cindex browsing servers
3337 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3338 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3339 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3340 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3343 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3344 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3345 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3346 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3348 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3353 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3354 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3358 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3359 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3362 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3363 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3364 Enter the current group and display the first article
3365 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3368 @kindex RET (Browse)
3369 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3370 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3374 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3375 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3376 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3382 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3383 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3387 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3388 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3392 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3393 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3394 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3399 @section Exiting gnus
3400 @cindex exiting gnus
3402 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3407 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3408 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3409 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3410 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3414 @findex gnus-group-exit
3415 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3416 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3420 @findex gnus-group-quit
3421 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3422 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3425 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3426 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3427 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3428 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3429 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3434 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3435 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3436 trying to customize meta-variables.
3441 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3442 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3443 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3449 @section Group Topics
3452 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3453 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3454 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3455 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3456 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3457 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3461 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3462 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3473 2: alt.religion.emacs
3476 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3478 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3479 13: comp.sources.unix
3482 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3484 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3485 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3486 is a toggling command.)
3488 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3489 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3490 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3491 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3494 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3495 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3496 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3499 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3503 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3504 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3505 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3506 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3507 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3511 @node Topic Commands
3512 @subsection Topic Commands
3513 @cindex topic commands
3515 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3516 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3517 definitions slightly.
3519 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3520 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3521 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3522 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3523 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3524 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3526 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3533 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3534 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3535 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3539 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3541 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3542 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3543 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3544 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3547 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3548 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3549 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3550 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3554 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3555 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3556 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3557 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3563 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3564 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3565 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3569 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3570 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3571 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3574 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3575 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3576 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3577 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3578 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3580 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3581 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3585 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3586 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3593 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3595 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3596 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3597 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3598 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3599 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3600 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3604 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3610 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3611 Move the current group to some other topic
3612 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3613 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3617 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3618 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3622 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3623 Copy the current group to some other topic
3624 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3625 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3629 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3630 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3631 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3635 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3636 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3637 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3641 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3642 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3643 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3644 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3645 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3646 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3647 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3650 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3651 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3655 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3656 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3657 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3661 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3662 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3663 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3667 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3668 Toggle hiding empty topics
3669 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3673 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3674 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3675 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3678 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3679 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3680 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3681 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3684 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3685 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3686 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3687 expiry process (if any)
3688 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3692 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3693 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3696 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3697 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3698 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3702 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3703 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3704 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3707 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3709 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3712 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3713 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3714 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3718 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3719 @cindex group parameters
3720 @cindex topic parameters
3722 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3723 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3728 @node Topic Variables
3729 @subsection Topic Variables
3730 @cindex topic variables
3732 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3733 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3735 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3736 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3737 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3750 Number of groups in the topic.
3752 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3754 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3757 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3758 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3759 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3762 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3763 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3765 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3766 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3767 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3771 @subsection Topic Sorting
3772 @cindex topic sorting
3774 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3780 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3782 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3786 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3788 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3792 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3793 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3794 Sort the current topic by group level
3795 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3798 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3799 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3800 Sort the current topic by group score
3801 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3804 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3805 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3806 Sort the current topic by group rank
3807 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3810 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3811 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3812 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3813 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3816 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3817 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3818 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3819 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3823 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3824 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3825 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3826 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3830 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3831 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3835 @node Topic Topology
3836 @subsection Topic Topology
3837 @cindex topic topology
3840 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3846 2: alt.religion.emacs
3849 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3851 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3852 13: comp.sources.unix
3855 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3856 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3857 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3862 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3863 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3867 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3868 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3869 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3870 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3871 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3872 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3874 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3875 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3876 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3879 @node Topic Parameters
3880 @subsection Topic Parameters
3881 @cindex topic parameters
3883 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3884 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3885 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3887 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3892 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3893 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3894 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3897 @item subscribe-level
3898 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3899 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3900 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3904 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3905 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3906 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3907 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3913 2: alt.religion.emacs
3917 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3919 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3920 13: comp.sources.unix
3924 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3925 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3926 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3927 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3928 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3929 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3931 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3932 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3933 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3934 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3935 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3937 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3938 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3939 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3940 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3941 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3942 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3943 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3944 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3947 @node Misc Group Stuff
3948 @section Misc Group Stuff
3951 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3952 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3953 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3954 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3955 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3962 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3963 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3964 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3968 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3969 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3970 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3971 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3972 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3973 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3974 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3978 @findex gnus-group-mail
3979 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3980 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3981 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3982 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3986 @findex gnus-group-news
3987 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3988 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3989 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3991 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3992 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3993 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3994 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3995 for this to work though.
3999 Variables for the group buffer:
4003 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4004 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4005 is called after the group buffer has been
4008 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4009 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4010 is called after the group buffer is
4011 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4014 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4015 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4016 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4017 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4019 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4020 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4021 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4022 whether they are empty or not.
4024 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4025 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4026 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4027 non-ASCII group names.
4031 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4032 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4035 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4036 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4037 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4038 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4039 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4040 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4045 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4046 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4051 @node Scanning New Messages
4052 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4053 @cindex new messages
4054 @cindex scanning new news
4060 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4061 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4062 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4063 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4064 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4065 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4070 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4071 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4072 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4073 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4074 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4075 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4076 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4078 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4079 @cindex activating groups
4081 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4082 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4087 @findex gnus-group-restart
4088 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4089 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4090 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4094 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4095 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4097 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4098 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4102 @node Group Information
4103 @subsection Group Information
4104 @cindex group information
4105 @cindex information on groups
4112 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4113 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4116 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4117 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4118 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4119 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4120 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4121 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4122 for fetching the file.
4124 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4125 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4129 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4130 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4132 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4133 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4136 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4137 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4138 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4142 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4143 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4144 @cindex control message
4145 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4146 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4147 group if given a prefix argument.
4149 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4150 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4151 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4152 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4154 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4155 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4156 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4160 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4162 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4163 @cindex describing groups
4164 @cindex group description
4165 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4166 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4167 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4171 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4172 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4173 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4180 @findex gnus-version
4181 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4185 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4186 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4189 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4192 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4193 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4197 @node Group Timestamp
4198 @subsection Group Timestamp
4200 @cindex group timestamps
4202 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4203 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4204 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4207 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4210 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4212 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4213 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4216 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4217 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4220 This will result in lines looking like:
4223 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4224 0: custom 19961002T012713
4227 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4228 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4232 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4233 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4236 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4237 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4241 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4242 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4243 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4244 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4246 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4252 @subsection File Commands
4253 @cindex file commands
4259 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4260 @vindex gnus-init-file
4261 @cindex reading init file
4262 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4263 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4267 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4268 @cindex saving .newsrc
4269 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4270 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4271 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4274 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4275 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4276 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4281 @node Sieve Commands
4282 @subsection Sieve Commands
4283 @cindex group sieve commands
4285 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4286 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4287 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4288 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4289 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4291 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4292 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4293 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4294 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4295 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4296 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4297 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4298 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4299 regenerate the Sieve script.
4301 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4302 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4303 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4304 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4305 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4306 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4307 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4308 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4309 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4310 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4313 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4314 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4319 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4325 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4326 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4327 @cindex generating sieve script
4328 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4329 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4333 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4334 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4335 @cindex updating sieve script
4336 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4337 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4338 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4343 @node Summary Buffer
4344 @chapter Summary Buffer
4345 @cindex summary buffer
4347 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4348 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4350 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4351 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4353 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4356 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4357 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4358 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4359 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4360 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4361 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4362 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4363 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4364 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4365 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4366 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4367 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4368 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4369 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4370 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4371 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4372 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4373 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4374 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4375 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4376 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4377 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4378 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4379 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4380 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4381 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4382 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4383 or reselecting the current group.
4384 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4385 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4386 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4387 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4391 @node Summary Buffer Format
4392 @section Summary Buffer Format
4393 @cindex summary buffer format
4397 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4398 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4399 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4405 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4406 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4407 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4408 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4411 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4412 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4413 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4414 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4415 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4416 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4417 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4418 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4419 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4420 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4421 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4422 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4423 other function instead:
4426 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4427 'mail-extract-address-components)
4430 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4431 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4432 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4433 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4436 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4437 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4439 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4440 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4441 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4442 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4443 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4445 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4446 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4447 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4448 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4449 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4450 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4452 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4454 The following format specification characters and extended format
4455 specification(s) are understood:
4461 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4462 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4464 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4465 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4466 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4468 Full @code{From} header.
4470 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4472 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4475 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4476 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4477 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4478 may be more thorough.
4480 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4483 Number of lines in the article.
4485 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4486 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4488 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4489 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4491 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4493 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4494 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4507 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4508 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4509 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4512 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4513 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4514 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4515 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4517 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4518 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4519 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4520 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4522 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4523 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4524 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4526 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4527 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4528 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4530 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4531 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4532 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4534 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4535 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4536 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4541 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4542 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4544 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4545 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4547 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4548 for adopted articles.
4550 One space for each thread level.
4552 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4554 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4557 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4558 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4559 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4562 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4564 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4565 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4566 default level. If the difference between
4567 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4568 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4576 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4578 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4584 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4585 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4587 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4588 article has any children.
4594 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4595 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4597 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4598 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4599 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4600 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4601 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4602 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4605 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4606 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4607 There can only be one such area.
4609 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4610 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4611 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4612 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4613 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4614 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4616 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4617 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4619 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4622 @node To From Newsgroups
4623 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4627 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4628 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4629 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4630 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4631 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4635 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4636 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4637 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4641 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4642 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4645 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4646 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4649 @findex gnus-extra-header
4650 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4651 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4652 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4655 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4659 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4660 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4661 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4662 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4663 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4664 headers are used instead.
4668 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4669 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4670 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4671 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4672 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4673 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4675 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4676 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4677 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4678 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4680 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4684 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4686 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4687 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4688 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4689 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4693 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4696 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4697 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4700 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4701 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4702 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4708 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4709 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4712 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4713 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4715 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4716 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4717 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4718 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4720 Here are the elements you can play with:
4726 Unprefixed group name.
4728 Current article number.
4730 Current article score.
4734 Number of unread articles in this group.
4736 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4739 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4740 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4741 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4742 and no unselected ones.
4744 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4745 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4747 Subject of the current article.
4749 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4751 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4753 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4755 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4757 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4759 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4763 @node Summary Highlighting
4764 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4768 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4769 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4770 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4771 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4772 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4774 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4775 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4776 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4777 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4779 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4780 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4781 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4782 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4784 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4785 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4786 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4787 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4788 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4789 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4792 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4793 ((> score default) . bold))
4795 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4796 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4800 @node Summary Maneuvering
4801 @section Summary Maneuvering
4802 @cindex summary movement
4804 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4805 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4807 None of these commands select articles.
4812 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4813 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4814 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4815 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4816 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4820 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4821 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4822 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4823 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4824 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4827 @kindex G g (Summary)
4828 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4829 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4830 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4833 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4834 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4835 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4836 to the group buffer.
4838 Variables related to summary movement:
4842 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4843 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4844 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4845 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4846 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4847 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4848 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4849 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4850 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4851 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4852 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4853 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4854 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4855 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4857 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4858 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4859 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4860 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4861 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4862 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4863 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4865 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4867 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4868 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4869 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4870 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4871 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4873 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4874 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4875 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4876 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4877 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4878 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4879 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4880 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4883 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4884 the given number of lines from the top.
4889 @node Choosing Articles
4890 @section Choosing Articles
4891 @cindex selecting articles
4894 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4895 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4899 @node Choosing Commands
4900 @subsection Choosing Commands
4902 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4903 and they all select and display an article.
4905 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4906 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4910 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4911 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4912 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4913 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4918 @kindex G n (Summary)
4919 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4920 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4921 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4926 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4927 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4928 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4933 @kindex G N (Summary)
4934 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4935 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4940 @kindex G P (Summary)
4941 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4942 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4945 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4946 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4947 Go to the next article with the same subject
4948 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4951 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4952 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4953 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4954 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4958 @kindex G f (Summary)
4960 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4961 Go to the first unread article
4962 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4966 @kindex G b (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4969 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4970 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4971 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4976 @kindex G l (Summary)
4977 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4978 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4981 @kindex G o (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4984 @cindex article history
4985 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4986 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4987 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4988 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4989 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4990 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4995 @kindex G j (Summary)
4996 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4997 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4998 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5003 @node Choosing Variables
5004 @subsection Choosing Variables
5006 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5009 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5010 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5011 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5012 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5013 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5014 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5016 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5017 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5018 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5019 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5020 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5021 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5023 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5024 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5025 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5026 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5027 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5028 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5029 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5030 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5031 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5032 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5033 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5034 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5035 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5036 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5041 @node Paging the Article
5042 @section Scrolling the Article
5043 @cindex article scrolling
5048 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5049 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5050 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5051 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5052 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5055 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5057 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5060 @kindex RET (Summary)
5061 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5062 Scroll the current article one line forward
5063 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5066 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5067 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5068 Scroll the current article one line backward
5069 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5073 @kindex A g (Summary)
5075 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5076 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5077 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5078 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5079 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5080 the way it came from the server.
5082 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5083 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5084 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5087 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5092 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5097 @kindex A < (Summary)
5098 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5099 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5100 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5105 @kindex A > (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5107 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5111 @kindex A s (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5114 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5115 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5119 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5120 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5125 @node Reply Followup and Post
5126 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5129 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5130 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5131 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5132 * Canceling and Superseding::
5136 @node Summary Mail Commands
5137 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5139 @cindex composing mail
5141 Commands for composing a mail message:
5147 @kindex S r (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5150 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5151 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5152 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5153 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5158 @kindex S R (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5160 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5161 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5162 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5163 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5166 @kindex S w (Summary)
5167 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5168 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5169 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5170 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5171 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5174 @kindex S W (Summary)
5175 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5176 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5177 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5178 the process/prefix convention.
5181 @kindex S v (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5183 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5184 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5185 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5186 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5187 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5190 @kindex S V (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5192 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5193 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5194 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5197 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5199 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5200 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5203 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5205 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5206 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5207 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5211 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5212 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5213 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5214 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5215 Forward the current article to some other person
5216 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5217 headers of the forwarded article.
5222 @kindex S m (Summary)
5223 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5224 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5225 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5226 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5227 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5232 @kindex S i (Summary)
5233 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5234 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5235 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5236 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5238 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5239 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5240 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5241 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5242 for this to work though.
5245 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5247 @cindex bouncing mail
5248 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5249 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5250 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5251 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5252 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5253 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5254 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5255 very well fail, though.
5258 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5259 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5260 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5261 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5262 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5263 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5264 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5265 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5266 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5267 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5269 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5270 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5271 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5272 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5273 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5275 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5276 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5279 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5280 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5281 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5282 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5283 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5286 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5287 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5288 @cindex crossposting
5289 @cindex excessive crossposting
5290 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5291 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5293 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5294 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5295 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5296 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5297 command understands the process/prefix convention
5298 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5302 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5303 Manual}, for more information.
5306 @node Summary Post Commands
5307 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5309 @cindex composing news
5311 Commands for posting a news article:
5317 @kindex S p (Summary)
5318 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5319 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5320 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5321 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5322 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5327 @kindex S f (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5329 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5330 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5334 @kindex S F (Summary)
5336 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5337 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5338 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5339 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5340 process/prefix convention.
5343 @kindex S n (Summary)
5344 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5345 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5346 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5349 @kindex S N (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5351 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5352 message through mail and include the original message
5353 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5354 the process/prefix convention.
5357 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5358 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5359 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5360 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5361 headers of the forwarded article.
5364 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5367 @cindex making digests
5368 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5369 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5370 process/prefix convention.
5373 @kindex S u (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5375 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5376 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5377 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5380 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5381 Manual}, for more information.
5384 @node Summary Message Commands
5385 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5389 @kindex S y (Summary)
5390 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5391 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5392 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5393 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5394 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5399 @node Canceling and Superseding
5400 @subsection Canceling Articles
5401 @cindex canceling articles
5402 @cindex superseding articles
5404 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5405 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5407 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5409 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5411 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5412 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5413 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5414 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5415 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5416 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5418 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5419 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5422 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5423 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5424 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5426 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5427 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5428 your original article.
5430 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5432 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5433 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5434 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5437 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5438 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5439 have posted almost the same article twice.
5441 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5442 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5443 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5444 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5445 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5446 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5447 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5448 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5449 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5450 canceled/superseded.
5452 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5454 @node Delayed Articles
5455 @section Delayed Articles
5456 @cindex delayed sending
5457 @cindex send delayed
5459 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5460 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5461 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5462 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5465 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5468 @findex gnus-delay-article
5469 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5470 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5471 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5472 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5476 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5477 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5478 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5479 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5482 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5483 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5484 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5487 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5488 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5489 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5490 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5491 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5492 that means a time tomorrow.
5495 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5496 couple of variables:
5499 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5500 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5501 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5502 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5504 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5505 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5506 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5507 formats described above.
5509 @item gnus-delay-group
5510 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5511 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5512 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5513 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5515 @item gnus-delay-header
5516 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5517 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5518 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5519 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5522 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5523 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5524 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5525 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5526 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5528 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5529 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5530 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5531 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5532 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5533 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5536 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5537 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5539 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5540 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5541 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5542 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5543 argument is ignored.
5545 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5546 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5547 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5551 @node Marking Articles
5552 @section Marking Articles
5553 @cindex article marking
5554 @cindex article ticking
5557 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5559 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5560 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5561 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5563 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5566 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5567 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5568 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5572 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5576 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5577 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5578 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5582 @node Unread Articles
5583 @subsection Unread Articles
5585 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5590 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5591 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5593 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5594 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5595 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5596 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5597 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5598 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5599 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5602 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5603 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5605 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5606 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5607 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5608 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5612 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5613 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5615 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5620 @subsection Read Articles
5621 @cindex expirable mark
5623 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5628 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5629 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5630 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5633 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5634 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5637 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5638 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5639 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5642 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5643 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5646 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5647 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5650 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5651 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5654 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5655 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5658 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5659 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5662 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5663 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5666 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5667 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5671 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5672 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5673 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5677 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5678 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5680 One more special mark, though:
5684 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5685 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5687 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5688 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5689 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5690 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5696 @subsection Other Marks
5697 @cindex process mark
5700 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5706 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5707 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5708 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5709 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5710 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5713 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5714 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5715 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5716 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5719 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5720 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5721 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5724 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5725 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5726 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5729 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5730 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5731 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5732 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5735 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5736 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5737 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5738 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5739 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5740 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5743 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5744 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5745 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5746 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5749 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5750 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5751 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5752 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5753 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5757 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5758 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5759 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5760 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5761 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5762 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5765 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5766 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5767 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5768 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5769 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5770 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5774 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5775 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5776 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5777 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5778 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5781 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5782 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5783 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5784 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5785 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5786 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5790 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5791 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5792 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5794 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5795 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5796 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5800 @subsection Setting Marks
5801 @cindex setting marks
5803 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5808 @kindex M c (Summary)
5809 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5811 @cindex mark as unread
5812 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5813 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5819 @kindex M t (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5821 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5822 @xref{Article Caching}.
5827 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5829 Mark the current article as dormant
5830 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5834 @kindex M d (Summary)
5836 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5837 Mark the current article as read
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5842 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5843 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5844 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5849 @kindex M k (Summary)
5850 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5851 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5852 and then select the next unread article
5853 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5857 @kindex M K (Summary)
5858 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5860 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5861 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5864 @kindex M C (Summary)
5865 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5866 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5867 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5870 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5872 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5873 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5876 @kindex M H (Summary)
5877 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5878 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5879 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5882 @kindex M h (Summary)
5883 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5884 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5885 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5888 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5889 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5890 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5891 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5894 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5895 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5896 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5897 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5901 @kindex M e (Summary)
5903 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5904 Mark the current article as expirable
5905 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5908 @kindex M b (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5910 Set a bookmark in the current article
5911 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5914 @kindex M B (Summary)
5915 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5916 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5917 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5920 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5921 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5922 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5923 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5926 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5927 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5928 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5929 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5932 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5933 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5934 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5935 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5936 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5939 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5940 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5941 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5942 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5943 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5944 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5945 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5946 The default is @code{t}.
5949 @node Generic Marking Commands
5950 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5952 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5953 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5954 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5955 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5956 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5959 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5960 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5963 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5964 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5965 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5966 to list in this manual.
5968 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5969 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5970 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5971 article, you could say something like:
5974 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5975 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5976 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5982 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5983 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5987 @node Setting Process Marks
5988 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5989 @cindex setting process marks
5991 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
5992 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
5993 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
5994 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
5995 commands into the cache. For more information,
5996 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6003 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6004 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6005 Mark the current article with the process mark
6006 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6007 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6011 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6012 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6013 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6014 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6017 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6018 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6019 Remove the process mark from all articles
6020 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6023 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6024 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6025 Invert the list of process marked articles
6026 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6029 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6031 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6032 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6035 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6036 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6037 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6038 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6041 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6042 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6043 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6047 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6048 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6051 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6053 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6054 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6057 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6058 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6059 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6060 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6063 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6064 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6065 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6066 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6069 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6071 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6074 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6076 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6077 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6080 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6081 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6082 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6085 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6086 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6087 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6088 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6091 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6093 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6097 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6098 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6099 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6100 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6103 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6104 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6105 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6106 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6110 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6111 set process marks based on article body contents.
6118 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6119 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6120 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6123 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6124 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6125 additional articles.
6131 @kindex / / (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6133 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6134 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6138 @kindex / a (Summary)
6139 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6140 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6145 @kindex / x (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6147 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6148 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6149 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6154 @kindex / u (Summary)
6156 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6157 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6158 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6159 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6160 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6163 @kindex / m (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6165 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6166 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6169 @kindex / t (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6171 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6173 articles younger than that number of days.
6176 @kindex / n (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6178 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6179 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6180 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6183 @kindex / w (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6185 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6186 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6190 @kindex / . (Summary)
6191 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6192 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6193 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6196 @kindex / v (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6198 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6199 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6202 @kindex / p (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6204 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6205 group parameter predicate
6206 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6207 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6211 @kindex M S (Summary)
6212 @kindex / E (Summary)
6213 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6214 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6215 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6218 @kindex / D (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6220 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6221 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6224 @kindex / * (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6226 Include all cached articles in the limit
6227 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6230 @kindex / d (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6232 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6233 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6236 @kindex / M (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6238 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6241 @kindex / T (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6243 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6246 @kindex / c (Summary)
6247 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6248 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6249 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6252 @kindex / C (Summary)
6253 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6254 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6255 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6256 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6259 @kindex / N (Summary)
6260 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6261 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6262 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6265 @kindex / o (Summary)
6266 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6267 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6268 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6276 @cindex article threading
6278 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6279 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6280 hierarchical fashion.
6282 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6283 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6284 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6285 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6286 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6287 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6288 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6290 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6294 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6297 A tree-like article structure.
6300 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6303 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6304 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6305 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6306 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6307 called loose threads.
6309 @item thread gathering
6310 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6312 @item sparse threads
6313 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6314 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6320 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6321 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6325 @node Customizing Threading
6326 @subsection Customizing Threading
6327 @cindex customizing threading
6330 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6331 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6332 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6333 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6338 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6341 @cindex loose threads
6344 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6345 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6346 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6347 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6348 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6349 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6351 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6352 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6353 There are four possible values:
6357 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6358 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6359 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6360 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6361 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6366 @cindex adopting articles
6371 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6372 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6373 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6374 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6377 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6378 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6379 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6380 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6381 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6382 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6383 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6384 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6385 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6386 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6389 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6390 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6391 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6395 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6396 display them after one another.
6399 Don't gather loose threads.
6402 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6403 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6404 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6405 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6406 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6407 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6408 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6409 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6410 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6411 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6412 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6414 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6415 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6416 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6419 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6420 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6421 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6422 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6423 simplification is used.
6425 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6426 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6427 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6428 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6430 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6432 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6438 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6439 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6440 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6441 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6446 (mapconcat 'identity
6447 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6449 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6452 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6455 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6456 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6457 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6458 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6459 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6460 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6462 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6465 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6466 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6467 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6469 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6470 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6473 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6474 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6475 Remove excessive whitespace.
6477 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6478 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6479 Remove all whitespace.
6482 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6485 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6486 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6487 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6488 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6489 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6490 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6491 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6492 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6494 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6495 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6496 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6497 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6498 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6499 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6500 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6501 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6502 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6506 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6507 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6508 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6509 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6511 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6512 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6513 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6516 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6520 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6521 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6527 @node Filling In Threads
6528 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6531 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6532 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6533 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6534 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6535 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6536 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6537 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6538 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6539 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6540 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6541 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6542 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6545 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6546 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6547 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6549 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6550 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6551 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6552 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6553 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6554 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6555 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6556 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6557 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6558 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6559 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6560 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6561 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6562 @code{nil} by default.
6564 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6565 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6566 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6567 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6568 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6569 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6570 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6572 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6573 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6574 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6579 @node More Threading
6580 @subsubsection More Threading
6583 @item gnus-show-threads
6584 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6585 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6586 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6587 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6588 slower and more awkward.
6590 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6591 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6592 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6595 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6596 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6597 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6602 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6603 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6604 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6607 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6608 unread, but you get my drift.)
6611 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6612 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6613 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6614 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6615 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6616 threads are expunged.
6618 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6619 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6620 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6623 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6624 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6625 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6626 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6627 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6628 result in a new thread.
6630 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6631 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6632 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6635 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6636 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6637 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6638 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6639 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6640 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6641 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6642 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6643 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6644 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6645 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6650 @node Low-Level Threading
6651 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6655 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6656 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6657 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6658 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6659 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6660 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6662 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6663 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6664 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6665 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6666 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6667 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6668 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6669 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6670 meaningful. Here's one example:
6673 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6675 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6676 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6678 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6680 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6687 @node Thread Commands
6688 @subsection Thread Commands
6689 @cindex thread commands
6695 @kindex T k (Summary)
6696 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6697 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6698 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6699 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6700 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6705 @kindex T l (Summary)
6706 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6707 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6708 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6709 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6712 @kindex T i (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6714 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6715 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6718 @kindex T # (Summary)
6719 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6720 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6721 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6724 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6725 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6726 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6727 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6730 @kindex T T (Summary)
6731 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6732 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6735 @kindex T s (Summary)
6736 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6737 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6738 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6741 @kindex T h (Summary)
6742 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6743 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6746 @kindex T S (Summary)
6747 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6748 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6751 @kindex T H (Summary)
6752 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6753 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6756 @kindex T t (Summary)
6757 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6758 Re-thread the current article's thread
6759 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6760 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6763 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6764 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6765 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6766 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6770 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6771 understand the numeric prefix.
6776 @kindex T n (Summary)
6778 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6780 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6781 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6782 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6785 @kindex T p (Summary)
6787 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6789 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6790 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6791 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6794 @kindex T d (Summary)
6795 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6796 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6799 @kindex T u (Summary)
6800 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6801 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6804 @kindex T o (Summary)
6805 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6806 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6809 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6810 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6811 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6812 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6813 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6814 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6815 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6816 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6817 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6818 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6819 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6820 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6824 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6825 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6827 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6828 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6829 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6830 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6831 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6832 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6833 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6834 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6835 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6836 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6837 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6838 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6839 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6841 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6842 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6843 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6844 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6845 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6846 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6847 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6848 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6850 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6851 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6852 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6854 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6855 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6856 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6857 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6858 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6859 ascending article order.
6861 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6862 by number, you could do something like:
6865 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6866 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6867 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6868 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6871 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6872 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6873 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6874 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6875 which the articles arrived.
6877 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6881 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6883 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6884 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6887 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6888 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6889 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6890 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6893 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6894 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6895 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6896 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6897 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6898 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6899 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6900 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6901 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6902 variable. It is very similar to the
6903 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6904 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6905 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6906 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6907 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6908 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6909 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6911 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6915 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6916 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6917 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6922 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6923 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6924 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6925 @cindex article pre-fetch
6928 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6929 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6930 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6931 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6932 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6934 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6935 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6937 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6938 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6939 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6940 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6941 connection is blocked.
6943 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6944 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6945 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6946 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6948 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6949 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6950 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6951 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6954 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6957 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6958 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6959 happen automatically.
6961 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6962 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6963 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6964 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6965 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6966 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6967 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6969 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6970 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6971 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6972 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6973 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6974 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6975 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6976 data structure as the only parameter.
6978 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6981 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6982 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6983 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6984 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6987 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6990 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6991 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6992 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6994 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6995 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6996 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6997 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7001 Remove articles when they are read.
7004 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7007 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7009 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7010 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7011 @c from the next group.
7014 @node Article Caching
7015 @section Article Caching
7016 @cindex article caching
7019 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7020 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7021 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7022 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7023 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7025 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7027 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7028 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7029 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7030 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7031 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7032 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7033 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7034 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7036 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7037 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7038 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7039 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7040 as dormant, and don't worry.
7042 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7044 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7045 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7046 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7047 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7048 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7049 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7050 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7051 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7052 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7053 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7055 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7056 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7057 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7058 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7059 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7060 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7061 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7062 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7063 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7064 not then be downloaded by this command.
7066 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7067 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7068 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7069 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7070 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7071 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7073 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7074 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7075 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7076 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7077 variables, the group is not cached.
7079 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7080 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7081 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7082 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7083 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7084 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7085 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7086 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7087 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7090 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7091 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7092 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7093 where, isn't that cool?
7095 @node Persistent Articles
7096 @section Persistent Articles
7097 @cindex persistent articles
7099 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7100 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7101 useful in my opinion.
7103 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7104 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7105 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7106 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7107 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7108 the expiry going on at the news server.
7110 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7111 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7112 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7118 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7119 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7122 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7123 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7124 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7125 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7129 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7131 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7132 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7133 interested in persistent articles:
7136 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7140 @node Article Backlog
7141 @section Article Backlog
7143 @cindex article backlog
7145 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7146 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7147 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7148 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7149 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7150 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7151 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7152 increase memory usage some.
7154 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7155 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7156 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7157 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7158 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7159 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7160 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7162 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7165 @node Saving Articles
7166 @section Saving Articles
7167 @cindex saving articles
7169 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7170 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7171 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7172 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7173 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7175 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7176 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7177 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7179 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7180 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7181 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7183 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7184 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7185 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7186 deleted before saving.
7192 @kindex O o (Summary)
7194 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7195 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7196 Save the current article using the default article saver
7197 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7200 @kindex O m (Summary)
7201 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7202 Save the current article in mail format
7203 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7206 @kindex O r (Summary)
7207 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7208 Save the current article in rmail format
7209 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7212 @kindex O f (Summary)
7213 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7214 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7215 Save the current article in plain file format
7216 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7219 @kindex O F (Summary)
7220 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7221 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7222 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7225 @kindex O b (Summary)
7226 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7227 Save the current article body in plain file format
7228 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7231 @kindex O h (Summary)
7232 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7233 Save the current article in mh folder format
7234 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7237 @kindex O v (Summary)
7238 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7239 Save the current article in a VM folder
7240 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7244 @kindex O p (Summary)
7246 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7247 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7248 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7249 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7250 complete headers in the piped output.
7253 @kindex O P (Summary)
7254 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7255 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7256 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7257 external program Muttprint (see
7258 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7259 options to use is controlled by the variable
7260 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7264 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7265 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7266 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7267 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7268 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7269 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7270 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7271 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7272 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7273 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7274 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7275 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7279 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7280 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7281 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7282 functions below, or you can create your own.
7286 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7287 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7288 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7289 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7290 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7291 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7292 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7294 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7295 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7296 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7297 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7298 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7299 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7301 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7302 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7303 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7304 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7305 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7306 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7307 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7309 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7310 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7311 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7312 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7313 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7314 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7316 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7317 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7318 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7319 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7320 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7322 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7323 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7324 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7325 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7326 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7329 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7330 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7331 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7332 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7333 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7335 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7336 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7337 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7338 reader to use this setting.
7341 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7342 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7343 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7344 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7347 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7348 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7349 available functions that generate names:
7353 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7354 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7355 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7357 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7358 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7359 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7361 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7362 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7363 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7365 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7366 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7367 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7369 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7370 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7371 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7374 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7375 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7376 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7377 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7378 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7382 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7383 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7384 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7385 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7388 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7389 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7390 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7391 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7392 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7393 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7394 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7395 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7396 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7398 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7399 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7400 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7401 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7403 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7404 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7405 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7408 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7409 lots of mail groups called things like
7410 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7411 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7412 following will do just that:
7415 (defun my-save-name (group)
7416 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7417 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7419 (setq gnus-split-methods
7420 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7425 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7426 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7427 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7428 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7429 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7430 all the files in the top level directory
7431 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7432 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7433 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7434 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7436 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7437 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7438 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7439 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7440 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7443 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7447 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7448 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7449 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7452 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7453 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7454 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7455 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7458 @node Decoding Articles
7459 @section Decoding Articles
7460 @cindex decoding articles
7462 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7463 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7466 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7467 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7468 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7469 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7470 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7471 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7475 @cindex article series
7476 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7477 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7478 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7479 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7480 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7482 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7483 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7484 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7486 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7487 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7488 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7490 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7491 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7492 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7495 @node Uuencoded Articles
7496 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7498 @cindex uuencoded articles
7503 @kindex X u (Summary)
7504 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7505 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7506 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7509 @kindex X U (Summary)
7510 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7511 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7512 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7515 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7516 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7517 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7520 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7521 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7522 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7523 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7527 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7528 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7529 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7530 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7531 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7533 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7534 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7535 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7536 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7539 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7540 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7541 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7542 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7543 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7544 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7548 @node Shell Archives
7549 @subsection Shell Archives
7551 @cindex shell archives
7552 @cindex shared articles
7554 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7555 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7556 some commands to deal with these:
7561 @kindex X s (Summary)
7562 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7563 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7566 @kindex X S (Summary)
7567 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7568 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7571 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7572 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7573 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7576 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7577 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7578 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7579 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7583 @node PostScript Files
7584 @subsection PostScript Files
7590 @kindex X p (Summary)
7591 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7592 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7595 @kindex X P (Summary)
7596 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7597 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7598 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7601 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7602 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7603 View the current PostScript series
7604 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7607 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7608 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7609 View and save the current PostScript series
7610 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7615 @subsection Other Files
7619 @kindex X o (Summary)
7620 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7621 Save the current series
7622 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7625 @kindex X b (Summary)
7626 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7627 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7628 doesn't really work yet.
7632 @node Decoding Variables
7633 @subsection Decoding Variables
7635 Adjective, not verb.
7638 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7639 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7640 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7644 @node Rule Variables
7645 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7646 @cindex rule variables
7648 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7649 variables are of the form
7652 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7659 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7660 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7662 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7663 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7666 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7667 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7670 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7671 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7672 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7673 user and default view rules.
7675 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7676 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7677 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7682 @node Other Decode Variables
7683 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7686 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7688 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7689 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7690 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7691 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7692 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7696 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7697 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7700 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7701 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7702 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7705 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7706 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7707 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7708 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7709 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7712 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7713 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7714 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7716 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7717 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7718 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7719 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7720 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7723 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7724 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7725 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7727 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7728 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7729 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7730 looking for files to display.
7732 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7733 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7734 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7737 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7738 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7739 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7742 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7743 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7744 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7747 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7748 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7749 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7752 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7753 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7754 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7755 decoded articles as unread.
7757 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7758 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7759 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7760 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7762 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7763 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7764 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7766 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7767 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7769 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7770 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7771 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7772 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7774 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7775 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7776 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7777 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7778 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7779 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7780 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7781 simply dropped them.
7786 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7787 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7791 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7792 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7793 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7794 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7795 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7796 for you when you post the article.
7798 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7799 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7800 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7801 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7803 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7804 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7805 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7806 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7807 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7808 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7809 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7811 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7812 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7813 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7814 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7815 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7816 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7817 Default is @code{t}.
7823 @subsection Viewing Files
7824 @cindex viewing files
7825 @cindex pseudo-articles
7827 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7828 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7829 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7830 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7831 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7832 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7833 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7835 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7836 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7837 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7838 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7840 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7841 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7842 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7844 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7845 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7846 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7847 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7848 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7850 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7851 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7852 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7853 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7854 a list of parameters to that command.
7856 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7857 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7858 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7860 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7861 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7862 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7865 @node Article Treatment
7866 @section Article Treatment
7868 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7869 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7870 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7871 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7872 these articles easier.
7875 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7876 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7877 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7878 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7879 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7880 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7881 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7882 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7883 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7884 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7888 @node Article Highlighting
7889 @subsection Article Highlighting
7890 @cindex highlighting
7892 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7893 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7898 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7899 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7900 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7901 Do much highlighting of the current article
7902 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7903 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7906 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7907 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7908 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7909 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7910 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7911 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7912 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7913 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7914 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7915 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7916 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7917 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7920 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7921 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7922 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7924 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7927 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7929 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7930 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7931 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7933 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7934 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7935 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7937 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7938 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7939 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7940 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7941 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7942 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7944 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7945 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7946 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7948 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7949 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7950 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7952 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7953 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7954 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7955 that it's a citation.
7957 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7958 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7959 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7961 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7962 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7963 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7965 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7966 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7967 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7968 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7974 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7975 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7976 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7977 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7978 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7979 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7980 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7981 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7986 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7989 @node Article Fontisizing
7990 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7992 @cindex article emphasis
7994 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7995 @kindex W e (Summary)
7996 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7997 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7998 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7999 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8001 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8002 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8003 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8004 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8005 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8006 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8007 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8008 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8012 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8013 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8014 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8023 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8024 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8025 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8026 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8027 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8028 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8029 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8030 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8031 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8032 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8033 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8034 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8035 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8037 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8038 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8039 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8043 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8046 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8048 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8049 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8050 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8051 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8053 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8056 @node Article Hiding
8057 @subsection Article Hiding
8058 @cindex article hiding
8060 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8061 too much cruft in most articles.
8066 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8067 @findex gnus-article-hide
8068 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8069 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8070 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8073 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8074 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8075 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8079 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8080 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8081 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8082 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8085 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8086 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8087 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8091 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8092 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8093 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8094 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8095 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8096 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8097 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8098 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8102 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8103 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8104 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8105 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8110 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8111 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8112 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8113 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8116 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8117 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8118 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8119 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8122 @cindex stripping advertisements
8123 @cindex advertisements
8124 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8125 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8126 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8127 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8128 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8129 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8130 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8131 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8132 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8133 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8136 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8137 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8138 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8142 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8143 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8144 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8145 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8146 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8147 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8148 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8149 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8150 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8151 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8152 following element to remove them:
8155 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8161 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8162 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8163 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8164 customizing the hiding:
8168 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8169 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8170 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8171 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8172 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8173 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8174 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8179 Starting point of the hidden text.
8181 Ending point of the hidden text.
8183 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8185 Number of lines of hidden text.
8188 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8189 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8190 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8191 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8192 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8197 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8198 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8200 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8201 following two variables:
8204 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8205 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8206 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8207 50), hide the cited text.
8209 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8210 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8211 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8216 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8217 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8218 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8219 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8220 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8221 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8225 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8226 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8227 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8229 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8230 citation customization.
8232 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8236 @node Article Washing
8237 @subsection Article Washing
8239 @cindex article washing
8241 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8242 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8244 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8245 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8248 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8249 articles by default.
8254 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8255 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8259 @kindex W l (Summary)
8260 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8261 Remove page breaks from the current article
8262 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8266 @kindex W r (Summary)
8267 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8268 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8269 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8270 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8271 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8272 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8274 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8275 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8276 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8277 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8280 @kindex W m (Summary)
8281 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8282 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8283 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8287 @kindex W t (Summary)
8289 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8290 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8291 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8294 @kindex W v (Summary)
8295 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8296 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8297 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8300 @kindex W m (Summary)
8301 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8302 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8303 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8306 @kindex W o (Summary)
8307 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8308 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8311 @kindex W d (Summary)
8312 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8313 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8315 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8317 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8318 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8319 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8320 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8323 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8324 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8325 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8326 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8329 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8330 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8331 @cindex Outlook Express
8332 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8333 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8334 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8337 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8339 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8340 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8341 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8342 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8343 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8344 (@code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8347 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8348 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8349 Repair a broken attribution line.
8350 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8353 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8354 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8355 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8356 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8359 @kindex W w (Summary)
8360 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8361 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8363 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8367 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8368 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8369 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8372 @kindex W C (Summary)
8373 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8374 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8375 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8378 @kindex W c (Summary)
8379 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8380 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8381 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8382 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8383 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8386 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8387 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8388 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8389 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8390 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8391 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8392 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8394 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8397 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8398 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8399 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8400 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8401 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8404 @kindex W u (Summary)
8405 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8406 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8407 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8408 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8409 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8412 @kindex W h (Summary)
8413 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8414 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8415 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8416 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8418 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8420 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8421 The default is to use the function specified by
8422 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8423 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8424 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8425 you can use include:
8432 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8436 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8439 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8442 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8447 @kindex W b (Summary)
8448 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8449 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8450 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8453 @kindex W B (Summary)
8454 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8455 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8456 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8459 @kindex W p (Summary)
8460 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8461 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8462 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8463 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8464 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8465 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8466 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8469 @kindex W s (Summary)
8470 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8471 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8472 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8475 @kindex W a (Summary)
8476 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8477 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8478 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8481 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8482 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8483 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8484 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8487 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8488 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8489 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8490 lines with a single empty line.
8491 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8494 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8495 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8496 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8497 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8500 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8501 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8502 Do all the three commands above
8503 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8506 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8507 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8508 Remove all blank lines
8509 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8512 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8514 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8515 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8518 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8519 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8520 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8521 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8525 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8528 @node Article Header
8529 @subsection Article Header
8531 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8536 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8537 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8538 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8541 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8543 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8544 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8547 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8548 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8549 Fold all the message headers
8550 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8554 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8555 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8556 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8561 @node Article Buttons
8562 @subsection Article Buttons
8565 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8566 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8567 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8568 button on these references.
8570 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8571 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8572 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8573 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8574 one that handles article heads:
8578 @item gnus-button-alist
8579 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8580 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8583 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8589 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8590 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8591 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8592 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8593 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8596 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8597 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8598 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8601 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8602 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8603 avoid false matches.
8606 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8609 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8610 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8614 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8617 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8620 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8621 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8622 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8623 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8624 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8627 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8630 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8632 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8633 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8634 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8635 default values of the variables above.
8637 @item gnus-article-button-face
8638 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8639 Face used on buttons.
8641 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8642 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8643 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8647 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8651 @subsection Article Date
8653 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8654 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8655 when the article was sent.
8660 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8661 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8662 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8663 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8666 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8669 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8670 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8673 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8674 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8675 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8678 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8680 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8681 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8684 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8685 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8686 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8687 @findex format-time-string
8688 Display the date using a user-defined format
8689 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8690 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8691 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8692 for a list of possible format specs.
8695 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8696 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8697 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8698 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8699 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8700 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8703 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8706 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8707 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8710 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8711 into wonderful absurdities.
8713 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8716 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8719 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8720 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8724 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8725 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8726 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8727 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8728 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8729 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8730 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8734 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8735 preferred format automatically.
8738 @node Article Display
8739 @subsection Article Display
8744 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8745 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8747 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8748 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8750 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8751 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8753 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8754 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8756 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8761 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8762 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8763 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8764 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8767 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8768 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8769 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8770 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8773 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8775 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8778 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8779 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8780 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8783 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8784 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8785 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8786 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8789 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8790 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8791 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8792 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8795 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8796 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8797 Remove all images from the article buffer
8798 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8804 @node Article Signature
8805 @subsection Article Signature
8807 @cindex article signature
8809 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8810 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8811 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8812 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8813 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8814 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8815 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8816 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8817 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8820 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8821 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8822 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8823 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8824 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8825 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8826 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8827 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8830 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8833 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8834 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8835 signature when displaying articles.
8839 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8842 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8845 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8846 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8848 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8849 in question is not a signature.
8852 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8853 listed above. Here's an example:
8856 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8857 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8860 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8861 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8862 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8863 signature after all.
8866 @node Article Miscellania
8867 @subsection Article Miscellania
8871 @kindex A t (Summary)
8872 @findex gnus-article-babel
8873 Translate the article from one language to another
8874 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8880 @section MIME Commands
8881 @cindex MIME decoding
8883 @cindex viewing attachments
8885 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8886 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8892 @kindex K v (Summary)
8893 View the @sc{mime} part.
8896 @kindex K o (Summary)
8897 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8900 @kindex K c (Summary)
8901 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8904 @kindex K e (Summary)
8905 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8908 @kindex K i (Summary)
8909 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8912 @kindex K | (Summary)
8913 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8916 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8921 @kindex K b (Summary)
8922 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8923 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8927 @kindex K m (Summary)
8928 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8929 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8930 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8931 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8932 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8935 @kindex X m (Summary)
8936 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8937 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8938 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8939 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8942 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8943 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8944 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8945 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8948 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8949 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8950 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8951 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8954 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8955 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8956 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8957 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8959 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8960 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8961 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8962 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8963 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8964 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8967 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8968 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8969 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8970 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8977 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8978 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8979 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8980 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8983 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8986 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8990 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
8991 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
8992 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
8993 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
8994 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
8995 default is @code{nil}.
8997 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
8998 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
8999 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9000 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9001 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9002 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9003 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9005 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9006 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9007 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9008 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9009 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9010 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9011 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9012 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9014 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9015 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9016 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9017 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9018 displayed. This variable overrides
9019 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9020 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9023 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9024 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9025 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9027 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9028 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9029 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9030 value is @code{nil}.
9032 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9033 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9034 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9035 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9036 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9037 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9038 save all jpegs into some directory).
9040 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9043 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9044 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9046 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9047 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9048 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9049 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9050 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9053 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9054 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9055 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9057 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9058 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9059 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9060 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9062 Ready-made functions include@*
9063 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9064 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9065 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9066 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9067 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9068 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9069 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9070 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9071 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9072 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9073 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9074 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9076 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9077 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9079 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9080 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9081 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9084 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9085 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9086 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9087 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9091 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9100 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9101 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9102 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9103 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9104 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9105 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9106 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9108 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9109 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9110 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9111 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9113 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9114 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9115 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9116 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9117 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9118 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9119 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9120 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9122 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9123 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9124 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9125 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9126 quoted-printable header encoding.
9128 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9129 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9130 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9134 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9137 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9138 means encode all charsets),
9140 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9141 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9142 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9149 @cindex coding system aliases
9150 @cindex preferred charset
9152 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9154 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9155 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9158 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9159 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9162 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9163 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9165 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9168 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9171 This will almost do the right thing.
9173 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9177 (codepage-setup 1251)
9178 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9182 @node Article Commands
9183 @section Article Commands
9190 @kindex A P (Summary)
9191 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9192 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9193 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9194 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9195 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9196 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9201 @node Summary Sorting
9202 @section Summary Sorting
9203 @cindex summary sorting
9205 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9206 can't really see why you'd want that.
9211 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9212 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9213 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9216 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9217 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9218 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9221 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9222 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9223 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9226 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9227 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9228 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9231 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9232 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9233 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9236 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9237 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9238 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9241 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9242 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9243 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9246 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9247 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9248 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9251 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9252 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9253 Sort using the default sorting method
9254 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9257 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9258 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9259 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9260 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9261 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9265 @node Finding the Parent
9266 @section Finding the Parent
9267 @cindex parent articles
9268 @cindex referring articles
9273 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9274 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9275 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9276 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9277 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9278 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9279 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9280 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9281 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9283 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9284 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9285 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9286 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9287 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9291 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9292 @kindex A R (Summary)
9293 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9294 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9297 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9298 @kindex A T (Summary)
9299 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9300 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9301 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9302 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9303 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9304 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9305 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9307 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9308 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9309 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9310 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9311 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9312 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9315 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9316 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9318 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9319 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9320 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9321 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9322 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9323 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9324 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9327 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9328 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9329 by giving this command a prefix.
9331 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9332 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9333 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9334 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9335 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9336 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9339 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9340 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9341 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9344 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9345 then ask Google if that fails:
9348 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9350 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9353 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9354 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9355 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9356 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9357 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9358 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9359 support this at all.
9362 @node Alternative Approaches
9363 @section Alternative Approaches
9365 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9366 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9369 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9370 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9375 @subsection Pick and Read
9376 @cindex pick and read
9378 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9379 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9380 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9381 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9383 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9384 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9385 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9386 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9387 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9388 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9390 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9395 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9396 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9397 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9398 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9399 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9400 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9401 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9402 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9405 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9406 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9407 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9408 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9412 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9413 Unpick the thread or article
9414 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9415 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9416 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9417 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9418 the thread or article at that line.
9422 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9423 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9424 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9425 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9426 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9427 will still be visible when you are reading.
9431 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9432 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9433 which is mapped to the same function
9434 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9436 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9439 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9442 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9443 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9445 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9446 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9447 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9449 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9450 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9451 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9452 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9453 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9454 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9455 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9459 @subsection Binary Groups
9460 @cindex binary groups
9462 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9463 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9464 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9465 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9466 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9467 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9468 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9471 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9472 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9473 command, when you have turned on this mode
9474 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9476 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9477 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9481 @section Tree Display
9484 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9485 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9486 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9487 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9490 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9493 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9494 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9495 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9497 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9498 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9499 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9500 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9501 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9503 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9504 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9505 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9506 default is @code{modeline}.
9508 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9509 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9510 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9511 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9512 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9513 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9514 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9520 The name of the poster.
9522 The @code{From} header.
9524 The number of the article.
9526 The opening bracket.
9528 The closing bracket.
9533 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9535 Variables related to the display are:
9538 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9539 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9540 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9541 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9542 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9543 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9545 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9546 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9547 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9548 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9552 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9553 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9554 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9555 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9556 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9557 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9558 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9559 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9560 other windows displayed next to it.
9562 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9566 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9567 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9570 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9571 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9572 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9573 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9574 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9575 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9576 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9580 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9583 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9593 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9597 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9598 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9600 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9602 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9607 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9608 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9609 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9612 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9613 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9614 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9615 (gnus-add-configuration
9619 (summary 0.75 point)
9624 @xref{Window Layout}.
9627 @node Mail Group Commands
9628 @section Mail Group Commands
9629 @cindex mail group commands
9631 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9632 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9634 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9635 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9640 @kindex B e (Summary)
9641 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9642 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9643 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9644 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9645 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9648 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9649 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9650 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9651 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9652 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9653 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9656 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9657 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9658 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9659 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9660 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9661 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9664 @kindex B m (Summary)
9666 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9667 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9668 Move the article from one mail group to another
9669 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9670 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9673 @kindex B c (Summary)
9675 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9676 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9677 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9678 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9679 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9682 @kindex B B (Summary)
9683 @cindex crosspost mail
9684 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9685 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9686 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9687 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9688 be properly updated.
9691 @kindex B i (Summary)
9692 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9693 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9694 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9695 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9698 @kindex B I (Summary)
9699 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9700 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9701 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9702 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9705 @kindex B r (Summary)
9706 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9707 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9708 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9709 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9710 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9711 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9712 (which is the default).
9716 @kindex B w (Summary)
9718 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9719 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9720 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9721 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9722 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9723 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9724 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9727 @kindex B q (Summary)
9728 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9729 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9730 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9731 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9734 @kindex B t (Summary)
9735 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9736 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9737 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9740 @kindex B p (Summary)
9741 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9742 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9743 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9744 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9745 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9746 article from your news server (or rather, from
9747 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9748 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9749 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9750 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9751 just not have arrived yet.
9754 @kindex K E (Summary)
9755 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9756 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9757 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9758 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9759 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9763 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9764 @cindex moving articles
9765 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9766 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9767 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9768 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9769 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9770 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9771 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9774 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9775 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9776 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9777 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9781 @node Various Summary Stuff
9782 @section Various Summary Stuff
9785 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9786 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9787 * Summary Generation Commands::
9788 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9792 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9793 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9794 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9795 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9796 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9797 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9799 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9800 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9801 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9803 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9804 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9805 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9806 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9807 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9808 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9811 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9812 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9813 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9814 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9815 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9817 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9818 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9819 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9822 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9823 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9824 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9825 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9826 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9827 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9828 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9829 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9830 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9831 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9833 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9834 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9835 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9836 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9837 list of articles to be selected.
9839 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9840 the list in one particular group:
9843 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9844 (if (string= group "some.group")
9845 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9849 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9850 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9851 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9852 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9853 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9854 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9855 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9856 buffers. For example:
9859 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9860 '(message-use-followup-to
9861 (gnus-visible-headers .
9862 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9868 @node Summary Group Information
9869 @subsection Summary Group Information
9874 @kindex H f (Summary)
9875 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9876 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9877 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9878 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9879 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9880 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9881 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9882 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9883 be used for fetching the file.
9886 @kindex H d (Summary)
9887 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9888 Give a brief description of the current group
9889 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9890 rereading the description from the server.
9893 @kindex H h (Summary)
9894 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9895 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9896 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9899 @kindex H i (Summary)
9900 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9901 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9905 @node Searching for Articles
9906 @subsection Searching for Articles
9911 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9912 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9913 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9914 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9917 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9918 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9919 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9920 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9924 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9925 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9926 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9927 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9928 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9929 search backward instead.
9931 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9932 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9935 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9936 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9937 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9938 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9941 @node Summary Generation Commands
9942 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9947 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9948 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9949 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9952 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9953 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9954 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9955 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9958 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9959 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9960 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9961 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
9966 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9967 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9973 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9974 @kindex A D (Summary)
9975 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9976 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9977 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9978 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9979 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9980 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9981 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9982 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9986 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9987 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9988 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9989 several documents into one biiig group
9990 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9991 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9992 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9993 command understands the process/prefix convention
9994 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9997 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9998 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9999 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10000 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10001 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10002 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10005 @kindex = (Summary)
10006 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10007 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10008 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10011 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10012 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10013 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10014 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10017 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10018 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10019 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10020 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10025 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10026 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10027 @cindex summary exit
10028 @cindex exiting groups
10030 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10031 group and return you to the group buffer.
10037 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10038 @kindex q (Summary)
10039 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10040 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10041 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10042 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10043 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10044 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10045 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10046 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10047 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10048 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10049 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10053 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10054 @kindex Q (Summary)
10055 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10056 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10057 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10061 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10062 @kindex c (Summary)
10063 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10064 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10065 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10066 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10069 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10070 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10071 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10072 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10075 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10076 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10077 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10078 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10081 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10082 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10083 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10084 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10085 all articles, both read and unread.
10089 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10090 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10091 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10092 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10093 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10094 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10095 articles, both read and unread.
10098 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10099 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10100 Exit the group and go to the next group
10101 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10104 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10105 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10106 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10107 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10110 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10111 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10112 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10113 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10114 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10115 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10118 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10119 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10120 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10121 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10123 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10124 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10125 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10126 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10127 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10128 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10129 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10130 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10131 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10132 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10133 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10134 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10136 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10138 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10139 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10140 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10141 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10142 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10143 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10144 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10145 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10146 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10149 @node Crosspost Handling
10150 @section Crosspost Handling
10154 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10155 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10156 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10157 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10158 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10159 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10162 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10163 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10164 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10165 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10166 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10168 @cindex cross-posting
10171 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10172 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10173 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10174 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10175 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10176 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10177 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10178 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10179 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10180 the cross reference mechanism.
10182 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10183 @cindex overview.fmt
10184 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10185 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10186 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10187 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10188 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10189 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10192 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10193 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10194 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10199 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10202 @node Duplicate Suppression
10203 @section Duplicate Suppression
10205 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10206 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10207 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10208 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10213 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10214 is evil and not very common.
10217 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10218 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10221 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10222 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10225 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10228 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10229 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10231 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10232 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10233 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10234 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10235 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10236 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10237 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10240 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10241 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10242 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10243 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10244 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10245 saw the article in.
10248 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10249 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10250 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10252 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10253 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10254 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10255 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10256 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10257 session are suppressed.
10259 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10260 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10261 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10262 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10264 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10265 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10266 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10267 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10270 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10271 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10272 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10273 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10274 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10275 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10276 to you to figure out, I think.
10281 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10282 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10283 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10287 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10288 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10289 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10290 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10293 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10294 or newer is recommended.
10298 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10299 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10302 @item mm-verify-option
10303 @vindex mm-verify-option
10304 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10305 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10306 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10308 @item mm-decrypt-option
10309 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10310 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10311 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10312 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10315 @vindex mml1991-use
10316 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10317 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10318 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10321 @vindex mml2015-use
10322 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10323 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10324 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10329 @section Mailing List
10331 @kindex A M (summary)
10332 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10333 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10334 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10335 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10336 summary buffer, or say:
10339 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10342 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10347 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10348 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10349 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10352 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10353 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10354 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10357 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10358 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10359 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10363 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10364 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10365 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10368 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10369 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10370 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10373 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10374 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10375 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10379 @node Article Buffer
10380 @chapter Article Buffer
10381 @cindex article buffer
10383 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10384 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10385 tell gnus otherwise.
10388 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10389 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10390 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10391 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10392 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10396 @node Hiding Headers
10397 @section Hiding Headers
10398 @cindex hiding headers
10399 @cindex deleting headers
10401 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10402 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10404 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10405 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10406 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10407 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10408 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10409 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10410 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10411 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10412 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10414 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10418 @item gnus-visible-headers
10419 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10420 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10421 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10422 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10424 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10425 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10428 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10431 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10434 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10435 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10436 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10437 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10438 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10439 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10441 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10442 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10445 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10448 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10451 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10452 variable will have no effect.
10456 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10457 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10458 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10459 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10460 the headers are to be displayed.
10462 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10463 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10466 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10469 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10470 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10472 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10473 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10474 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10475 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10476 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10477 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10478 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10481 These conditions are:
10484 Remove all empty headers.
10486 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10487 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10489 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10490 @code{From} header.
10492 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10495 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10496 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10498 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10501 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10503 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10506 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10509 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10510 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10513 This is also the default value for this variable.
10517 @section Using MIME
10520 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10521 while people stand around yawning.
10523 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10524 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10526 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10527 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10528 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10530 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10531 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10532 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10533 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10534 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10535 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10536 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10537 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10538 not existed yet, sorry).
10540 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10541 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10542 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10543 These can't be avoided.
10545 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10546 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10547 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10548 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10549 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10550 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10551 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10552 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10553 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10556 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10558 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10559 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10560 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10561 buffer when there are nobody else.
10563 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10566 @node Customizing Articles
10567 @section Customizing Articles
10568 @cindex article customization
10570 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10571 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10572 called automatically when you select the articles.
10574 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10575 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10576 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10577 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10579 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10580 for sensible values.
10584 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10587 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10590 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10593 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10596 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10600 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10601 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10602 regexps in the list.
10605 A list where the first element is not a string:
10607 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10608 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10609 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10613 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10617 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10622 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10623 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10624 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10625 considered to contain just a single part.
10627 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10628 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10629 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10630 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10631 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10632 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10633 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10635 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10636 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10637 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10638 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10641 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10642 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10644 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10646 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10647 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10648 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10649 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10650 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10651 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10652 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10653 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10654 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10655 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10656 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10658 @xref{Article Washing}.
10660 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10661 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10662 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10663 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10664 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10665 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10666 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10668 @xref{Article Date}.
10670 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10671 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10672 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10676 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10678 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10680 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10681 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10682 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10686 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10690 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10691 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10692 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10693 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10694 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10695 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10696 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10697 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10699 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10701 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10702 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10703 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10705 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10707 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10708 @item gnus-treat-translate
10709 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10711 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10712 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10713 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10714 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10716 @xref{Article Header}.
10721 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10722 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10723 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10724 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10725 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10729 @node Article Keymap
10730 @section Article Keymap
10732 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10733 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10734 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10735 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10738 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10743 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10744 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10745 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10748 @kindex DEL (Article)
10749 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10750 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10753 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10754 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10755 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10756 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10757 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10760 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10761 @findex gnus-article-mail
10762 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10763 given a prefix, include the mail.
10766 @kindex s (Article)
10767 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10768 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10769 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10772 @kindex ? (Article)
10773 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10774 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10775 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10778 @kindex TAB (Article)
10779 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10780 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10781 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10784 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10785 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10786 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10789 @kindex R (Article)
10790 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10791 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10792 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10793 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10797 @kindex F (Article)
10798 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10799 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10800 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10801 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10809 @section Misc Article
10813 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10814 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10815 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10816 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10819 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10820 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10822 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10823 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10825 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10826 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10827 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10828 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10829 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10830 the contents of the article buffer.
10832 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10833 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10834 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10836 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10837 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10838 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10839 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10841 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10842 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10843 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10844 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10845 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10851 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10852 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10853 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10858 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10861 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10864 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10865 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10866 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10869 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10872 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10875 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10880 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10884 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10886 @item gnus-break-pages
10887 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10888 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10889 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10890 paging will not be done.
10892 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10893 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10894 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10899 @node Composing Messages
10900 @chapter Composing Messages
10901 @cindex composing messages
10904 @cindex sending mail
10909 @cindex using s/mime
10910 @cindex using smime
10912 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10913 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10914 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10915 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10916 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10917 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10920 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10921 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10922 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10923 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10924 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10925 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10926 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10927 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10930 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10931 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10937 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10940 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10941 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10942 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10943 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
10944 @code{nil} include all headers.
10946 @item gnus-add-to-list
10947 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10948 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10949 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10951 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10952 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10953 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
10954 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
10955 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
10956 confirmation is should be asked for.
10958 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10959 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10961 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
10962 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
10963 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
10964 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
10965 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
10970 @node Posting Server
10971 @section Posting Server
10973 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10974 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10976 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10978 It can be quite complicated.
10980 @vindex gnus-post-method
10981 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10982 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10983 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10984 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10985 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10986 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10987 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10988 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10989 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10992 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10995 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10996 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10997 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10998 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11000 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11001 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11003 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11004 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11007 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11008 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11010 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11011 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11012 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11013 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11014 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11015 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11016 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11017 package correctly. An example:
11020 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11021 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11022 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11023 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11024 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11027 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11028 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11029 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11031 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11032 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11033 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11035 @node Mail and Post
11036 @section Mail and Post
11038 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11042 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11043 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11044 @cindex mailing lists
11046 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11047 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11048 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11049 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11050 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11051 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11052 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11053 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11054 still a pain, though.
11058 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11059 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11060 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11063 @findex ispell-message
11065 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11068 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11069 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11072 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11076 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11077 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11079 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11082 Modify to suit your needs.
11085 @node Archived Messages
11086 @section Archived Messages
11087 @cindex archived messages
11088 @cindex sent messages
11090 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11091 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11092 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11093 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11096 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11097 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11100 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11101 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11102 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11105 (nnfolder "archive"
11106 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11107 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11108 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11109 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11112 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11113 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11114 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11115 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11118 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11119 '(nnfolder "archive"
11120 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11121 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11122 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11125 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11127 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11128 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11129 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11131 This variable can be used to do the following:
11136 Messages will be saved in that group.
11138 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11139 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11140 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11141 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11142 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11143 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11144 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11145 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11149 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11151 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11152 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11155 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11160 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11162 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11165 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11167 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11170 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11172 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11173 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11174 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11175 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11178 More complex stuff:
11180 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11181 '((if (message-news-p)
11186 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11187 messages in one file per month:
11190 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11191 '((if (message-news-p)
11193 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11196 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11197 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11199 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11200 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11201 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11202 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11203 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11204 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11205 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11206 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11207 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11208 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11210 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11211 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11212 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11213 this will disable archiving.
11216 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11217 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11218 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11219 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11220 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11223 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11224 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11225 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11228 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11229 but the latter is the preferred method.
11231 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11232 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11233 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11235 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11236 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11237 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11238 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11239 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11240 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11241 changed in the future.
11246 @node Posting Styles
11247 @section Posting Styles
11248 @cindex posting styles
11251 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11253 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11254 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11255 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11258 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11259 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11260 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11261 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11262 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11267 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11268 (organization "What me?"))
11270 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11271 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11272 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11275 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11276 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11277 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11278 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11279 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11280 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11281 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11282 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11284 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11285 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11286 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11287 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11288 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11289 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11290 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11291 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11292 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11293 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11294 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11297 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11298 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11299 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11300 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11301 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11302 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11303 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11304 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11305 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11306 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11309 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11310 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11311 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11312 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11313 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11314 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11315 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11316 references chars lines xref extra.
11318 @vindex message-reply-headers
11320 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11321 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11322 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11324 @findex message-mail-p
11325 @findex message-news-p
11327 So here's a new example:
11330 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11332 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11334 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11335 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11337 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11338 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11339 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11340 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11341 (signature my-news-signature))
11342 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11343 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11344 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11345 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11346 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11347 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11348 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11349 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11350 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11351 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11353 (From (save-excursion
11354 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11355 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11357 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11360 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11361 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11362 if you fill many roles.
11364 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11365 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11366 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11367 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11368 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11369 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11370 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11371 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11376 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11378 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11380 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11381 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11384 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11387 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11388 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11395 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11396 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11397 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11398 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11399 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11401 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11402 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11403 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11404 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11405 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11409 @vindex nndraft-directory
11410 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11411 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11412 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11413 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11414 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11415 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11417 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11418 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11421 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11422 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11423 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11424 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11425 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11426 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11427 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11428 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11429 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11430 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11431 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11432 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11433 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11434 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11436 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11437 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11438 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11440 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11441 @kindex D e (Draft)
11442 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11443 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11444 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11446 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11449 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11450 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11451 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11452 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11453 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11454 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11455 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11458 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11459 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11460 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11463 @node Rejected Articles
11464 @section Rejected Articles
11465 @cindex rejected articles
11467 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11468 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11469 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11470 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11472 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11473 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11474 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11475 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11476 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11478 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11479 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11480 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11482 @node Signing and encrypting
11483 @section Signing and encrypting
11485 @cindex using s/mime
11486 @cindex using smime
11488 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11489 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11490 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11491 (@pxref{Security}).
11493 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11494 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11495 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11496 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11497 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11498 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11499 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11500 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11501 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11502 automatically encrypted messages.
11504 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11505 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11506 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11511 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11512 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11514 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11517 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11518 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11520 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11523 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11524 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11526 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11529 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11530 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11532 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11535 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11536 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11538 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11541 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11542 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11544 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11547 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11548 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11549 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11553 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11555 @node Select Methods
11556 @chapter Select Methods
11557 @cindex foreign groups
11558 @cindex select methods
11560 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11561 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11562 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11563 personal mail group.
11565 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11566 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11567 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11568 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11569 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11570 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11572 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11573 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11575 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11578 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11579 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11580 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11581 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11582 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11584 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11587 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11588 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11589 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11590 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11591 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11592 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11593 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11594 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11598 @node Server Buffer
11599 @section Server Buffer
11601 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11602 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11603 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11604 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11605 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11606 back end represents a virtual server.
11608 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11609 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11610 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11611 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11613 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11614 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11615 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11616 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11617 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11618 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11619 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11621 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11622 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11625 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11626 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11627 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11628 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11629 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11630 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11631 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11634 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11635 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11638 @node Server Buffer Format
11639 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11640 @cindex server buffer format
11642 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11643 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11644 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11645 variable, with some simple extensions:
11650 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11653 The name of this server.
11656 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11659 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11662 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11663 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11664 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11665 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11675 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11678 @node Server Commands
11679 @subsection Server Commands
11680 @cindex server commands
11686 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11687 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11691 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11692 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11695 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11696 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11697 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11701 @findex gnus-server-exit
11702 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11706 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11707 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11711 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11712 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11716 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11717 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11721 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11722 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11726 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11727 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11728 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11733 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11734 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11735 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11736 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11741 @node Example Methods
11742 @subsection Example Methods
11744 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11747 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11750 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11756 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11757 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11760 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11761 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11763 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11764 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11768 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11771 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11772 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11774 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11775 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11776 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11780 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11783 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11786 Here's the method for a public spool:
11790 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11791 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11797 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11798 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11799 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11800 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11801 should probably look something like this:
11805 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11806 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11807 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11808 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11811 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11812 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11813 configuration to the example above:
11816 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11819 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11821 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11822 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11823 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11827 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11828 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11829 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11830 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11833 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11834 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11835 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11836 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11839 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11840 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11842 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11843 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11845 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11846 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11847 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11849 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11851 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11852 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11853 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11854 will contain the following:
11864 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11865 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11866 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11869 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11870 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11871 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11874 @node Server Variables
11875 @subsection Server Variables
11877 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11878 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11879 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11880 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11881 won't change the "derived" variables.
11883 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11884 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11885 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11886 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11887 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11888 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11889 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11890 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11891 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11895 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11896 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11897 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11901 @node Servers and Methods
11902 @subsection Servers and Methods
11904 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11905 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11906 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11907 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11911 @node Unavailable Servers
11912 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11914 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11915 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11916 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11917 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11918 actually the case or not.
11920 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11921 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11922 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11923 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11924 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11925 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11926 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11927 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11929 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11930 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11932 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11933 with the following commands:
11939 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11940 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11941 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11945 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11946 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11947 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11951 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11952 Mark the current server as unreachable
11953 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11956 @kindex M-o (Server)
11957 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11958 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11959 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11962 @kindex M-c (Server)
11963 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11964 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11965 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11969 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11970 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11971 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11975 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11976 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11982 @section Getting News
11983 @cindex reading news
11984 @cindex news back ends
11986 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11987 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11988 or it can read from a local spool.
11991 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11992 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12000 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12001 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12002 server as the, uhm, address.
12004 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12005 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12006 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12007 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12009 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12010 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12011 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12013 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12018 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12019 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12020 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12022 @cindex authentification
12023 @cindex nntp authentification
12024 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12025 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12026 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12027 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12028 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12029 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12030 present in this hook.
12032 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12033 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12034 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12035 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12036 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12037 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12038 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12039 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12040 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12041 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12042 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12043 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12047 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12050 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12052 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12053 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12054 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12055 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12056 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12057 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12058 @samp{force} is explained below.
12062 Here's an example file:
12065 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12066 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12069 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12070 have to be first, for instance.
12072 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12073 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12074 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12075 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12076 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12077 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12078 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12080 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12081 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12087 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12088 previously mentioned.
12090 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12092 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12093 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12094 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12095 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12096 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12099 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12100 '(("innd" (ding))))
12103 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12105 The default value is
12108 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12109 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12110 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12113 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12114 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12116 @item nntp-maximum-request
12117 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12118 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12119 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12120 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12121 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12122 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12123 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12125 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12126 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12127 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12128 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12129 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12130 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12131 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12132 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12133 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12134 no timeouts are done.
12136 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12137 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12138 @c @cindex PPP connections
12139 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12140 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12141 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12142 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12143 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12144 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12145 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12146 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12147 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12148 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12150 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12151 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12152 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12153 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12154 @c described above.
12156 @item nntp-server-hook
12157 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12158 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12161 @item nntp-buggy-select
12162 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12163 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12165 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12166 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12167 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12168 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12171 @item nntp-xover-commands
12172 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12175 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12176 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12180 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12181 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12182 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12183 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12184 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12185 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12186 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12187 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12188 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12189 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12190 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12192 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12193 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12194 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12196 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12197 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12198 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12199 server closes connection.
12201 @item nntp-record-commands
12202 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12203 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12204 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12205 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12206 that doesn't seem to work.
12208 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12209 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12210 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12211 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12212 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12213 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12214 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12215 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12217 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12218 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12219 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12220 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12221 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12222 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12223 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12226 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12229 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12230 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12232 @item nntp-list-options
12233 @vindex nntp-list-options
12234 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12235 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12236 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12237 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12238 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12242 (setq gnus-select-method
12243 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12244 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12247 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12248 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12249 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12250 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12251 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12252 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12253 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12256 (setq gnus-select-method
12257 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12258 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12261 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12262 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12263 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12264 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12265 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12266 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12267 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12270 (setq gnus-select-method
12271 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12272 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12277 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12278 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12279 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12283 @node Direct Functions
12284 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12285 @cindex direct connection functions
12287 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12288 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12289 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12290 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12293 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12294 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12295 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12298 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12299 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12300 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12301 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12302 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12303 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12304 define a server as follows:
12307 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12309 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12310 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12312 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12313 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12314 (nntp-port-number 563)
12315 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12318 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12319 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12320 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12321 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12322 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12323 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12324 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12325 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12329 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12330 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12331 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12334 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12335 session, which is not a good idea.
12339 @node Indirect Functions
12340 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12341 @cindex indirect connection functions
12343 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12344 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12345 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12346 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12347 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12348 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12351 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12352 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12353 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12354 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12355 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12357 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12360 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12361 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12362 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12363 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12365 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12366 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12367 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12368 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12369 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12370 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12371 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12372 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12375 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12376 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12377 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12378 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12380 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12383 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12384 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12385 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12388 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12389 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12390 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12391 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12393 @item nntp-via-user-password
12394 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12395 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12397 @item nntp-via-envuser
12398 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12399 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12400 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12401 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12403 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12404 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12405 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12406 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12413 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12418 @item nntp-via-user-name
12419 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12420 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12422 @item nntp-via-address
12423 @vindex nntp-via-address
12424 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12429 @node Common Variables
12430 @subsubsection Common Variables
12432 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12433 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12438 @item nntp-pre-command
12439 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12440 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12441 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12442 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12443 wrapper for instance.
12446 @vindex nntp-address
12447 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12449 @item nntp-port-number
12450 @vindex nntp-port-number
12451 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12452 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12453 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12454 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12456 @item nntp-end-of-line
12457 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12458 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12459 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12460 using a non native connection function.
12462 @item nntp-telnet-command
12463 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12464 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12465 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12466 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12468 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12469 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12470 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12477 @subsection News Spool
12481 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12482 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12483 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12486 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12487 anything else) as the address.
12489 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12490 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12491 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12492 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12496 @item nnspool-inews-program
12497 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12498 Program used to post an article.
12500 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12501 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12502 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12504 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12505 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12506 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12507 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12509 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12510 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12511 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12512 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12514 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12515 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12516 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12518 @item nnspool-active-file
12519 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12520 The name of the active file.
12522 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12523 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12524 The name of the group descriptions file.
12526 @item nnspool-history-file
12527 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12528 The name of the news history file.
12530 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12531 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12532 The name of the active date file.
12534 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12535 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12536 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12539 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12540 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12542 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12543 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12544 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12550 @section Getting Mail
12551 @cindex reading mail
12554 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12558 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12559 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12560 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12561 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12562 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12563 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12564 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12565 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12566 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12567 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12568 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12569 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12570 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12574 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12575 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12577 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12578 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12579 of a culture shock.
12581 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12582 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12584 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12585 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12586 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12587 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12589 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12591 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12592 deleted? How awful!
12594 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12595 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12596 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12597 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12600 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12601 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12602 they want to treat a message.
12604 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12605 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12606 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12607 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12608 archived somewhere else.
12610 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12611 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12612 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12613 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12614 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12616 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12617 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12618 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12620 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12621 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12624 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12625 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12626 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12627 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12628 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12630 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12631 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12632 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12633 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12634 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12635 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12639 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12640 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12642 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12643 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12644 and things will happen automatically.
12646 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12647 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12650 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12653 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12654 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12655 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12656 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12657 like any other group.
12659 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12662 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12663 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12664 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12668 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12669 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12670 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12673 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12674 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12675 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12678 @node Splitting Mail
12679 @subsection Splitting Mail
12680 @cindex splitting mail
12681 @cindex mail splitting
12683 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12684 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12685 to be split into groups.
12688 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12689 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12690 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12691 ("mail.other" "")))
12694 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12695 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12696 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12697 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12698 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12699 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12700 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12703 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12706 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12707 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12708 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12709 mail belongs in that group.
12711 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12712 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12713 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12714 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12715 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12716 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12718 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12719 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12720 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12721 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12722 thinks should carry this mail message.
12724 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12725 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12726 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12727 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12729 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12730 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12731 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12732 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12733 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12735 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12738 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12739 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12740 links. If that's the case for you, set
12741 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12742 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12744 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12745 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12746 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12747 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12748 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12749 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12752 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12753 Header lines longer than the value of
12754 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12757 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12758 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12759 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12760 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12761 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12762 can be turned off completely by binding
12763 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12764 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12766 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12767 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12768 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12769 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12770 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12771 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12772 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12775 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12776 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12777 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12778 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12779 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12780 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12781 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12782 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12783 month's rent money.
12787 @subsection Mail Sources
12789 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12790 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12794 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12795 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12796 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12800 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12801 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12803 @cindex mail server
12806 @cindex mail source
12808 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12809 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12814 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12817 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12818 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12819 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12822 The following mail source types are available:
12826 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12832 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12833 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12834 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12837 An example file mail source:
12840 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12843 Or using the default file name:
12849 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12850 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12851 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12854 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12858 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12861 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12865 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12868 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12870 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12873 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12877 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12878 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12879 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12880 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12881 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12882 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12883 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12884 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12885 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12886 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12888 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12889 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12890 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12891 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12897 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12901 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12905 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12906 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12907 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12908 predicate are considered.
12912 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12916 An example directory mail source:
12919 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12924 Get mail from a POP server.
12930 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12931 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12934 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12935 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12936 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12937 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12938 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12941 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12945 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12949 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12950 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12953 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12956 The valid format specifier characters are:
12960 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12961 included in this string.
12964 The name of the server.
12967 The port number of the server.
12970 The user name to use.
12973 The password to use.
12976 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12977 corresponding keywords.
12980 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12981 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12984 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12985 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12988 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12989 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12992 @item :authentication
12993 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12994 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12998 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
12999 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13000 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13001 programs and libraries:
13005 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13006 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13007 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13009 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13010 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13015 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13016 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13020 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13021 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13023 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13024 default user name, and default fetcher:
13030 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13033 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13034 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13037 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13040 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13044 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13045 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13046 contains exactly one mail.
13052 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13053 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13056 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13057 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13059 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13060 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13061 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13064 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13065 from locking problems).
13069 Two example maildir mail sources:
13072 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13073 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13077 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13082 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13083 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13084 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13085 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13088 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13089 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13095 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13096 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13099 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13100 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13103 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13107 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13111 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13112 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13113 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13114 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13116 @item :authentication
13117 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13118 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13119 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13120 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13123 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13124 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
13125 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13131 The valid format specifier characters are:
13135 The name of the server.
13138 User name from `imap-default-user'.
13141 The port number of the server.
13144 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13145 corresponding keywords.
13148 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13149 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13152 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13153 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13154 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13155 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13156 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13157 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13160 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13161 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13162 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13163 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13166 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13167 after finishing the fetch.
13171 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13174 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13176 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13180 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13181 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13182 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13184 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13185 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13187 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13193 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13194 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13197 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13201 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13205 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13206 folder after finishing the fetch.
13210 An example webmail source:
13213 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13215 :password "secret")
13220 @item Common Keywords
13221 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13227 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13228 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13232 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13237 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13238 useful when you use local mail and news.
13243 @subsubsection Function Interface
13245 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13246 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13247 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13248 consider the following mail-source setting:
13251 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13252 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13255 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13256 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13257 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13258 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13259 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13261 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13264 @node Mail Source Customization
13265 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13267 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13268 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13272 @item mail-source-crash-box
13273 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13274 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13275 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13277 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13278 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13279 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13281 @item mail-source-directory
13282 @vindex mail-source-directory
13283 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13284 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13285 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13288 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13289 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13290 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13291 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13292 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13293 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13295 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13296 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13297 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13299 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13300 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13301 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13302 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13307 @node Fetching Mail
13308 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13310 @vindex mail-sources
13311 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13312 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13313 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13314 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13316 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13317 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13320 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13321 mail server, you'd say something like:
13326 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13327 :password "secret")))
13330 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13334 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13335 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13338 :password "secret")))
13342 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13343 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13344 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13345 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13346 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13347 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13351 @node Mail Back End Variables
13352 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13354 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13358 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13359 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13360 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13361 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13363 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13364 @item nnmail-split-hook
13365 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13366 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13367 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13368 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13369 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13370 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13371 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13372 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13373 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13376 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13377 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13378 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13379 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13380 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13381 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13382 starting to handle the new mail) and
13383 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13384 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13385 default file modes the new mail files get:
13388 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13389 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13391 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13392 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13395 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13396 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13397 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13398 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13399 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13400 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13401 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13403 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13404 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13405 @findex delete-file
13406 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13408 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13409 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13410 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13411 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13412 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13414 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13415 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13416 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13417 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13418 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13420 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13421 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13422 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13427 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13428 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13429 @cindex mail splitting
13430 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13432 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13433 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13434 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13435 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13436 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13437 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13439 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13442 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13443 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13444 ;; from real errors.
13445 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13447 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13448 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13449 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13450 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13451 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13452 ;; Other mailing lists...
13453 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13454 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13455 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13456 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13457 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13458 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13459 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13460 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13462 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13463 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13467 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13468 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13469 the five possible split syntaxes:
13474 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13475 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13479 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13480 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13481 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13482 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13483 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13484 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13485 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13486 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13489 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13490 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13491 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13492 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13495 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13496 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13499 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13500 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13503 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13504 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13505 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13506 function should return a @var{split}.
13509 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13510 body of the messages:
13513 (defun split-on-body ()
13515 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13516 (goto-char (point-min))
13517 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13521 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13522 when the @code{:} function is run.
13525 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13526 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13527 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13531 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13535 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13536 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13537 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13538 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13539 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13541 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13542 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13543 are expanded as specified by the variable
13544 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13545 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13548 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13549 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13550 when all this splitting is performed.
13552 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13553 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13554 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13557 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13560 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13561 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13563 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13564 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13565 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13566 groupings 1 through 9.
13568 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13569 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13570 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13571 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13572 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13573 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13574 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13575 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13576 it once per thread.
13578 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13579 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13580 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13583 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13584 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13586 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13587 ;; other splits go here
13591 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13592 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13593 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13594 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13595 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13596 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13597 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13598 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13599 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13600 unless the group name matches the regexp
13601 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13602 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13603 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13604 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13605 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13606 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13607 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13608 messages goes into the new group.
13610 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13611 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13612 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13613 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13614 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13618 @node Group Mail Splitting
13619 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13620 @cindex mail splitting
13621 @cindex group mail splitting
13623 @findex gnus-group-split
13624 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13625 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13626 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13627 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13628 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13629 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13630 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13631 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13633 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13634 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13635 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13636 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13638 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13639 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13640 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13641 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13642 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13643 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13644 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13646 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13647 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13648 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13649 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13650 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13651 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13652 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13654 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13655 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13656 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13657 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13658 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13659 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13660 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13661 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13662 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13663 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13664 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13665 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13666 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13668 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13673 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13674 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13676 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13677 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13678 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13679 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13681 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13684 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13685 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13686 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13689 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13690 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13691 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13695 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13696 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13697 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13701 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13704 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13705 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13706 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13707 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13708 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13709 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13710 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13711 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13712 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13714 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13715 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13716 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13717 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13718 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13719 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13720 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13721 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13722 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13724 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13725 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13726 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13727 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13728 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13729 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13732 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13735 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13736 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13737 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13738 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13739 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13742 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13743 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13744 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13745 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13747 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13748 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13749 @cindex incorporating old mail
13750 @cindex import old mail
13752 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13753 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13754 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13757 Doing so can be quite easy.
13759 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13760 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13761 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13762 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13763 your @code{nnml} groups.
13769 Go to the group buffer.
13772 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13773 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13776 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13779 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13780 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13783 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13784 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13787 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13788 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13789 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13790 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13791 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13793 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13794 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13795 using the new mail back end.
13798 @node Expiring Mail
13799 @subsection Expiring Mail
13800 @cindex article expiry
13802 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13803 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13804 different approach to mail reading.
13806 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13807 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13808 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13809 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13810 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13811 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13814 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13815 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13816 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13817 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13818 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13819 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13820 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13821 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13822 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13824 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13825 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13826 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13827 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13828 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13829 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13830 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13833 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13834 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13835 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13836 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13837 into its own group.)
13839 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13840 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13841 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13842 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13843 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13844 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13845 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13846 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13849 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13850 Groups that match the regular expression
13851 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13852 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13853 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13855 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13856 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13857 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13858 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13859 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13861 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13863 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13864 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13865 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13868 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13869 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13870 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13871 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13872 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13874 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13875 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13878 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13879 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13882 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13883 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13885 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13886 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13887 don't really mix very well.
13889 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13890 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13891 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13892 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13895 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13896 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13897 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13898 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13901 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13903 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13905 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13907 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13909 ((string= group "important")
13915 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13916 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13918 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13919 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13920 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13923 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13924 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13926 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13927 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13928 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13929 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13930 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13931 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13932 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13933 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13934 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13935 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13936 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13937 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13938 name or @code{delete}.
13940 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13942 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13945 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13946 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13947 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13948 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13949 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13952 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13953 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13954 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13955 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13956 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13959 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13960 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13961 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13962 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13963 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13964 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13966 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13967 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13968 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13969 easier for procmail users.
13971 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13972 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13973 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13974 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13975 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13976 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13977 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13978 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13979 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13980 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13981 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13982 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13983 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13986 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13988 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13989 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13990 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13991 auto-expire turned on.
13995 @subsection Washing Mail
13996 @cindex mail washing
13997 @cindex list server brain damage
13998 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14000 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14001 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14002 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14003 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14004 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14005 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14007 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14008 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14009 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14012 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14013 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14014 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14015 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14018 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14019 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14020 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14021 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14022 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14025 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14026 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14027 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14028 Emacs running on MS machines.
14032 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14033 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14034 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14035 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14038 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14039 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14040 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14041 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14043 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14044 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14045 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14046 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14047 into a feature by documenting it.)
14049 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14050 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14051 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14052 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14053 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14054 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14055 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14058 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14059 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14062 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14063 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14066 This can also be done non-destructively with
14067 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14069 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14070 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14071 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14073 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14074 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14076 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14077 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14078 @code{References} headers.
14082 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14083 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14084 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14088 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14089 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14090 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14097 @subsection Duplicates
14099 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14100 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14101 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14102 @cindex duplicate mails
14103 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14104 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14105 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14106 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14107 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14108 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14109 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14110 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14111 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14112 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14113 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14114 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14115 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14117 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14118 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14119 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14120 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14122 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14125 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14126 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14130 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14131 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14132 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14133 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14134 (any mail "mail.misc")
14141 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14142 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14147 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14148 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14149 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14150 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14151 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14154 @node Not Reading Mail
14155 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14157 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14158 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14159 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14161 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14162 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14163 mail, which should help.
14165 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14166 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14167 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14168 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14169 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14170 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14171 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14172 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14173 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14174 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14175 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14177 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14178 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14182 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14183 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14185 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14186 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14187 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14189 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14190 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14191 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14192 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14193 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14194 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14195 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14198 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14199 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14200 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14201 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14202 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14203 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14207 @node Unix Mail Box
14208 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14210 @cindex unix mail box
14212 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14213 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14214 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14215 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14216 which group it belongs in.
14218 Virtual server settings:
14221 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14222 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14223 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14226 @item nnmbox-active-file
14227 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14228 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14229 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14231 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14232 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14233 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14234 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14239 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14243 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14244 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14245 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14246 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14247 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14249 Virtual server settings:
14252 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14253 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14254 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14256 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14257 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14258 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14259 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14261 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14262 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14263 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14269 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14271 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14273 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14274 format. It should be used with some caution.
14276 @vindex nnml-directory
14277 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14278 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14279 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14280 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14282 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14285 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14286 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14287 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14288 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14289 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14290 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14291 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14292 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14294 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14295 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14296 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14297 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14299 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14301 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14302 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14303 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14304 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14305 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14306 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14307 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14308 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14311 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14312 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14313 them next time it starts.
14315 Virtual server settings:
14318 @item nnml-directory
14319 @vindex nnml-directory
14320 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14321 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14324 @item nnml-active-file
14325 @vindex nnml-active-file
14326 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14327 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14329 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14330 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14331 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14332 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14334 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14335 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14336 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14339 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14340 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14341 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14342 default is @code{nil}.
14344 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14345 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14346 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14348 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14349 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14350 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14352 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14353 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14354 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14355 default is @code{nil}.
14357 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14358 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14359 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14361 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14362 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14363 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14368 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14369 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14370 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14371 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14372 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14373 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14374 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14379 @subsubsection MH Spool
14381 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14383 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14384 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14385 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14386 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14388 Virtual server settings:
14391 @item nnmh-directory
14392 @vindex nnmh-directory
14393 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14394 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14397 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14398 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14399 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14403 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14404 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14405 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14406 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14407 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14408 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14409 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14414 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14416 @cindex mbox folders
14417 @cindex mail folders
14419 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14420 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14421 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14424 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14426 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14427 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14428 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14429 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14430 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14431 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14432 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14433 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14434 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14435 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14437 Virtual server settings:
14440 @item nnfolder-directory
14441 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14442 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14443 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14446 @item nnfolder-active-file
14447 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14448 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14450 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14451 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14452 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14453 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14455 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14456 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14457 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14460 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14461 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14462 @cindex backup files
14463 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14464 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14465 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14466 your @file{.emacs} file:
14469 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14470 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14472 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14475 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14476 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14477 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14478 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14479 extract some information from it before removing it.
14481 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14482 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14483 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14484 default is @code{nil}.
14486 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14487 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14488 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14490 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14491 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14492 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14493 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14495 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14496 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14497 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14498 default is @code{nil}.
14500 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14501 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14502 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14504 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14505 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14506 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14507 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14512 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14513 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14514 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14515 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14516 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14517 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14520 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14521 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14523 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14524 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14525 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14526 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14527 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14529 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14530 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14531 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14532 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14533 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14534 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14535 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14536 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14539 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14540 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14541 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14542 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14547 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14548 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14549 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14550 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14551 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14552 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14553 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14554 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14555 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14556 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14557 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14558 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14559 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14564 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14565 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14566 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14567 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14568 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14569 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14570 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14571 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14572 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14573 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14574 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14575 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14576 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14577 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14579 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14580 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14585 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14586 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14587 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14588 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14589 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14590 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14591 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14592 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14593 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14594 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14595 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14596 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14597 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14598 provided by the active file and overviews.
14600 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14601 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14602 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14603 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14604 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14607 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14608 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14613 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14614 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14615 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14616 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14617 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14618 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14619 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14623 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14624 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14625 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14626 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14627 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14628 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14629 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14630 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14631 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14633 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14634 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14635 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14636 friendly mail back end all over.
14640 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14641 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14642 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14643 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14644 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14645 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14646 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14647 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14650 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14651 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14652 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14653 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14654 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14655 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14656 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14657 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14658 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14659 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14660 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14662 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14663 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14664 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14665 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14666 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14667 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14668 This will probably be changed in the future.
14670 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14671 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14672 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14673 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14674 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14677 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14678 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14680 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14681 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14682 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14683 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14684 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14685 would) to make it use less memory.
14687 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14688 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14689 depending in part on your file system.
14691 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14692 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14697 @node Browsing the Web
14698 @section Browsing the Web
14700 @cindex browsing the web
14704 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14705 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14706 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14707 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14708 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14709 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14710 even know what a news group is.
14712 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14713 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14714 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14715 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14716 you mad in the end.
14718 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14721 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14722 interfaces to these sources.
14726 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14727 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14728 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14729 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14730 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14731 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14734 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14736 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14737 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14738 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14739 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14740 though, you should be ok.
14742 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14743 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14744 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14745 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14746 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14748 @node Archiving Mail
14749 @subsection Archiving Mail
14750 @cindex archiving mail
14751 @cindex backup of mail
14753 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14754 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14755 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14756 marks is fairly simple.
14758 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14759 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14762 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14763 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14764 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14765 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14766 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14767 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14768 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14769 before you restore the data.
14771 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14772 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14773 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14774 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14775 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14776 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14777 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14778 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14779 is unnecessary in that case.
14782 @subsection Web Searches
14787 @cindex Usenet searches
14788 @cindex searching the Usenet
14790 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14791 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14792 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14793 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14794 searches without having to use a browser.
14796 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14797 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14798 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14799 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14800 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14802 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14803 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14804 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14805 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14806 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14807 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14808 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14809 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14810 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14811 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14814 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14815 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14816 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14817 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14818 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14819 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14821 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14822 to use @code{nnweb}.
14824 Virtual server variables:
14829 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14830 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14831 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14834 @vindex nnweb-search
14835 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14837 @item nnweb-max-hits
14838 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14839 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14842 @item nnweb-type-definition
14843 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14844 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14845 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14850 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14854 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14857 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14860 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14864 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14871 @subsection Slashdot
14875 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14876 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14877 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14879 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14880 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14883 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14884 '((nnslashdot "")))
14887 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14888 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14889 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14890 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14891 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14894 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14895 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14897 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14898 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14899 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14900 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14901 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14902 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14905 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14908 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14909 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14910 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14911 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14912 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14913 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14914 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14916 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14917 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14918 The login name to use when posting.
14920 @item nnslashdot-password
14921 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14922 The password to use when posting.
14924 @item nnslashdot-directory
14925 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14926 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14927 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14929 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14930 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14931 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14932 news articles and comments. The default is
14933 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14935 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14936 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14937 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14939 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14941 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14942 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14943 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14945 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14947 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14948 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14949 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14951 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14952 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14953 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14954 updated. The default is 0.
14961 @subsection Ultimate
14963 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14965 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14966 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14967 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14968 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14970 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14971 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14972 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14973 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14974 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14975 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14976 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14978 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14981 @item nnultimate-directory
14982 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14983 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14984 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14989 @subsection Web Archive
14991 @cindex Web Archive
14993 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14994 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14995 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14996 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14999 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15000 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15001 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15002 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15003 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15004 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15005 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15007 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15010 @item nnwarchive-directory
15011 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15012 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15013 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
15015 @item nnwarchive-login
15016 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15017 The account name on the web server.
15019 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15020 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15021 The password for your account on the web server.
15029 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15030 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15031 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15034 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15035 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15038 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15041 @item nnrss-directory
15042 @vindex nnrss-directory
15043 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15044 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
15048 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15049 the summary buffer.
15052 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15053 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15055 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15057 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15058 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15061 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15064 (require 'browse-url)
15066 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15068 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15071 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15072 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15075 (browse-url (cdr url))
15076 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15077 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15079 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15080 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15081 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15082 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15085 @node Customizing w3
15086 @subsection Customizing w3
15092 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15093 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15094 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15096 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15097 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15098 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15101 (eval-after-load "w3"
15103 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15104 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15105 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15106 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15108 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15111 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15112 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15121 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15122 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15123 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15124 specify the network address of the server.
15126 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15127 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15128 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15129 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15130 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15132 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15133 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15134 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15135 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15137 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15138 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15139 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15140 usage explained in this section.
15142 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15143 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15144 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15147 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15148 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15149 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15151 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15152 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15153 ; a UW server running on localhost
15155 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15156 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15157 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15158 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15159 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15160 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15161 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15162 (nnimap-stream network))
15163 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15165 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15166 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15167 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15170 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15171 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15172 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15173 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15175 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15180 @item nnimap-address
15181 @vindex nnimap-address
15183 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15184 server name if not specified.
15186 @item nnimap-server-port
15187 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15188 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15190 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15193 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15194 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15197 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15198 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15199 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15200 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15201 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15202 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15203 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15205 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15206 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15207 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15210 Example server specification:
15213 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15214 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15215 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15218 @item nnimap-stream
15219 @vindex nnimap-stream
15220 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15221 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15222 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15223 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15225 Example server specification:
15228 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15229 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15232 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15236 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15237 @samp{imtest} program.
15239 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15241 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15242 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15245 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15246 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15247 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15249 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15251 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15254 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15255 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15256 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15257 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15258 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15259 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15260 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15261 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15262 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15265 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15266 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15267 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15268 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15269 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15270 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15271 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15272 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15273 distribution, for instance).
15275 @vindex imap-shell-program
15276 @vindex imap-shell-host
15277 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15278 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15280 @item nnimap-authenticator
15281 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15283 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15284 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15286 Example server specification:
15289 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15290 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15293 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15297 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15298 external program @code{imtest}.
15300 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15303 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15304 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15306 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15308 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15310 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15313 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15315 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15316 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15317 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15318 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15319 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15320 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15323 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15324 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15325 running in circles yet?
15327 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15328 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15331 The possible options are:
15336 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15339 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15340 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15341 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15342 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15344 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15349 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15350 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15352 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15353 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15354 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15355 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15356 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15359 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15360 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15363 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15364 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15365 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15366 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15369 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15370 as ticked for other users.
15372 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15374 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15376 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15377 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15378 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15379 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15381 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15382 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15383 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15384 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15386 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15387 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15389 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15390 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15391 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15397 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15398 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15399 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15400 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15401 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15406 @node Splitting in IMAP
15407 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15408 @cindex splitting imap mail
15410 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15411 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15412 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15413 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15414 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15418 Here are the variables of interest:
15422 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15423 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15425 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15427 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15428 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15430 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15432 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15433 @cindex splitting, inbox
15435 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15437 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15438 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15442 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15443 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15446 No nnmail equivalent.
15448 @item nnimap-split-rule
15449 @cindex Splitting, rules
15450 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15452 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15455 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15456 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15457 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15458 Neither did I, we need examples.
15461 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15463 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15464 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15465 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15468 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15469 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15470 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15472 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15473 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15477 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15480 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15481 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15483 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15484 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15485 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15486 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15488 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15489 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15490 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15491 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15492 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15493 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15495 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15496 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15497 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15499 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15500 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15501 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15503 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15505 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15506 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15507 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15510 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15511 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15512 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15513 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15514 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15515 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15518 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15519 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15520 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15521 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15522 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15523 group/function elements.
15525 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15527 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15529 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15531 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15532 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15534 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15535 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15536 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15539 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15540 @cindex splitting, fancy
15541 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15542 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15544 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15545 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15546 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15548 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15549 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15550 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15551 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15556 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15557 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15560 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15562 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15563 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15564 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15566 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15567 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15568 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15569 analyses the body to split the article.
15573 @node Expiring in IMAP
15574 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15575 @cindex expiring imap mail
15577 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
15578 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
15579 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
15580 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
15581 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
15582 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
15585 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15586 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15587 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15588 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15589 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15590 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15591 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15592 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15596 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15597 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15599 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15600 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15602 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15604 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15605 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15606 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15607 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15611 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15612 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15613 @cindex editing imap acls
15614 @cindex Access Control Lists
15615 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15617 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15619 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15620 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15621 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15624 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15625 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15626 editing window with detailed instructions.
15628 Some possible uses:
15632 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15633 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15634 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15636 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15637 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15638 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15642 @node Expunging mailboxes
15643 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15647 @cindex Manual expunging
15649 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15651 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15652 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15653 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15655 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15658 @node A note on namespaces
15659 @subsection A note on namespaces
15660 @cindex IMAP namespace
15663 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15664 following text in the RFC:
15667 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15669 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15670 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15671 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15672 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15674 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15675 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15676 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15677 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15678 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15679 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15682 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15683 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15684 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15686 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15687 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15688 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15689 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15690 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15691 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15692 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15693 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15695 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15696 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15697 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15699 @node Other Sources
15700 @section Other Sources
15702 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15703 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15707 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15708 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15709 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15710 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15711 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15715 @node Directory Groups
15716 @subsection Directory Groups
15718 @cindex directory groups
15720 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15721 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15724 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15725 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15726 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15727 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15729 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15730 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15731 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15732 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15733 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15735 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15737 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15738 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15739 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15740 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15743 @node Anything Groups
15744 @subsection Anything Groups
15747 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15748 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15749 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15752 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15753 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15754 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15755 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15756 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15757 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15758 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15759 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15760 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15761 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15764 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15765 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15766 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15767 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15769 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15770 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15771 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15772 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15774 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15775 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15776 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15777 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15778 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15779 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15780 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15781 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15786 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15787 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15788 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15789 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15791 @item nneething-exclude-files
15792 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15793 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15794 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15796 @item nneething-include-files
15797 @vindex nneething-include-files
15798 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15799 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15801 @item nneething-map-file
15802 @vindex nneething-map-file
15803 Name of the map files.
15807 @node Document Groups
15808 @subsection Document Groups
15810 @cindex documentation group
15813 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15814 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15821 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15826 The standard Unix mbox file.
15828 @cindex MMDF mail box
15830 The MMDF mail box format.
15833 Several news articles appended into a file.
15836 @cindex rnews batch files
15837 The rnews batch transport format.
15838 @cindex forwarded messages
15841 Forwarded articles.
15844 Netscape mail boxes.
15847 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15849 @item standard-digest
15850 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15853 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15855 @item lanl-gov-announce
15856 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15858 @item rfc822-forward
15859 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15862 The Outlook mail box.
15865 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15868 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15871 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15874 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15880 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15883 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15889 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15890 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15891 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15894 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15895 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15896 group. And that's it.
15898 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15899 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15900 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15901 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15902 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15903 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15904 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15905 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15906 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15907 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15909 Virtual server variables:
15912 @item nndoc-article-type
15913 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15914 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15915 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15916 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15917 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15918 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15920 @item nndoc-post-type
15921 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15922 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15923 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15928 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15932 @node Document Server Internals
15933 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15935 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15936 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15937 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15938 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15940 First, here's an example document type definition:
15944 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15945 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15948 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15949 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15950 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15951 types can be defined with very few settings:
15954 @item first-article
15955 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15956 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15959 @item article-begin
15960 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15961 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15963 @item head-begin-function
15964 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15967 @item nndoc-head-begin
15968 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15971 @item nndoc-head-end
15972 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15973 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15975 @item body-begin-function
15976 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15980 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15983 @item body-end-function
15984 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15988 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15991 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15992 regexp will be totally ignored.
15996 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15997 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15998 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15999 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16000 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16003 @item prepare-body-function
16004 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16005 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16006 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16008 @item article-transform-function
16009 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16010 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16011 body of the article.
16013 @item generate-head-function
16014 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16015 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16016 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16017 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16021 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16026 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16027 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16028 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16029 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16030 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16031 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16032 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16033 (subtype digest guess))
16036 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16037 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16038 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16039 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16040 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16042 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16043 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
16044 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
16045 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
16046 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
16047 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16048 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
16049 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16050 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
16051 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16059 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16060 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16061 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16063 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16064 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16065 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16068 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16069 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16070 that interested in doing things properly.
16072 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16073 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16076 First some terminology:
16081 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16082 get news and/or mail from.
16085 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16086 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16089 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16093 @item message packets
16094 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16095 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16096 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16098 @item response packets
16099 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16100 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16101 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16111 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16112 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16113 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16114 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16117 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16120 You put the packet in your home directory.
16123 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16124 the native or secondary server.
16127 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16128 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16131 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16135 You transfer this packet to the server.
16138 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16141 You then repeat until you die.
16145 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16146 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16149 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16150 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16151 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16155 @node SOUP Commands
16156 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16158 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16162 @kindex G s b (Group)
16163 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16164 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16165 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16166 process/prefix convention.
16169 @kindex G s w (Group)
16170 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16171 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16174 @kindex G s s (Group)
16175 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16176 Send all replies from the replies packet
16177 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16180 @kindex G s p (Group)
16181 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16182 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16185 @kindex G s r (Group)
16186 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16187 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16190 @kindex O s (Summary)
16191 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16192 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16193 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16194 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16199 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16204 @item gnus-soup-directory
16205 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16206 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16207 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16209 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16210 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16211 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16212 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16214 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16215 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16216 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16217 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16219 @item gnus-soup-packer
16220 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16221 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16222 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16224 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16225 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16226 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16227 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16229 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16230 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16231 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16233 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16234 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16235 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16236 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16242 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16245 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16246 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16247 you can read them at leisure.
16249 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16253 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16254 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16255 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16256 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16258 @item nnsoup-directory
16259 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16260 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16261 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16263 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16264 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16265 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16266 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16268 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16269 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16270 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16271 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16272 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16274 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16275 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16276 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16277 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16279 @item nnsoup-active-file
16280 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16281 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16282 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16283 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16284 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16286 @item nnsoup-packer
16287 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16288 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16289 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16291 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16292 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16293 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16294 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16296 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16297 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16298 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16301 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16302 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16303 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16306 @item nnsoup-always-save
16307 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16308 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16314 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16316 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16317 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16318 more for that to happen.
16320 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16321 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16322 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16325 In specific, this is what it does:
16328 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16329 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16332 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16333 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16334 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16337 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16338 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16339 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16342 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16343 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16344 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16346 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16352 @item nngateway-address
16353 @vindex nngateway-address
16354 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16356 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16357 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16358 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16359 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16360 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16361 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16362 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16365 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16366 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16367 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16370 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16373 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16376 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16379 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16381 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16384 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16385 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16386 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16388 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16390 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16391 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16392 @code{nngateway-address}.
16397 (setq gnus-post-method
16399 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16400 (nngateway-header-transformation
16401 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16409 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16412 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16417 @node Combined Groups
16418 @section Combined Groups
16420 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16424 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16425 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16429 @node Virtual Groups
16430 @subsection Virtual Groups
16432 @cindex virtual groups
16433 @cindex merging groups
16435 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16438 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16439 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16440 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16442 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16443 regexp to match component groups.
16445 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16446 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16447 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16448 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16449 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16450 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16451 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16452 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16454 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16455 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16458 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16461 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16462 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16464 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16465 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16466 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16467 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16470 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16473 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16474 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16475 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16477 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16478 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16479 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16480 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16481 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16483 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16484 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16485 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16487 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16488 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16489 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16490 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16491 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16492 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16493 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16494 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16495 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16496 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16497 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16499 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16500 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16501 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16502 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16503 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16504 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16505 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16507 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16508 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16510 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16511 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16515 @node Kibozed Groups
16516 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16520 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16521 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16522 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16523 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16525 @kindex G k (Group)
16526 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16529 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16530 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16531 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16532 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16534 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16535 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16536 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16538 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16539 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16540 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16541 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16542 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16543 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16544 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16545 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16547 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16548 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16549 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16550 Stranger things have happened.
16552 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16553 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16555 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16556 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16557 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16558 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16559 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16560 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16562 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16563 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16566 @node Gnus Unplugged
16567 @section Gnus Unplugged
16572 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16574 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16575 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16576 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16577 read news. Believe it or not.
16579 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16580 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16581 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16582 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16583 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16585 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16586 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16587 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16588 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16589 reading news on a machine.
16591 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16592 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16594 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16597 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16598 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16599 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16600 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16601 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16602 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
16603 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16604 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16605 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16606 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16607 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16608 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16613 @subsection Agent Basics
16615 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16617 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16618 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16619 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16620 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16622 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16623 connected to the net continuously.
16625 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16626 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16628 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16633 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16634 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16635 already fetched while in this mode.
16638 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16639 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16640 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16641 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16642 Source Specifiers}).
16645 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16646 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16647 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16648 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16649 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16652 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16653 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16654 then you read the news offline.
16657 And then you go to step 2.
16660 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16666 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16667 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16668 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16669 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16670 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16671 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16672 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16673 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16676 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16683 @node Agent Categories
16684 @subsection Agent Categories
16686 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16687 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16688 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16689 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16690 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16691 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16692 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16694 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16695 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16696 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16697 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16698 managing categories.
16701 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16702 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16703 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16707 @node Category Syntax
16708 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16710 A category consists of two things.
16714 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16715 are eligible for downloading; and
16718 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16719 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16720 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16723 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16724 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16725 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16726 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16728 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16729 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16730 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16732 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16733 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16734 operators sprinkled in between.
16736 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16738 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16739 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16745 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16746 short (for some value of ``short'').
16748 Here's a more complex predicate:
16757 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16758 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16761 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16762 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16763 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16765 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16766 you want to do, you can write your own.
16770 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16771 lines; default 100.
16774 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16775 lines; default 200.
16778 True iff the article has a download score less than
16779 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16782 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16783 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16786 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16787 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16788 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16797 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16798 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16799 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16802 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16803 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16804 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16805 something along the lines of the following:
16808 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16809 "Say whether an article is old."
16810 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16811 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16814 with the predicate then defined as:
16817 (not my-article-old-p)
16820 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16821 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16825 (require 'gnus-agent)
16826 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16827 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16828 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16831 and simply specify your predicate as:
16837 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16838 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16839 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16840 just don't give a damn.
16842 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16843 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16844 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16845 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16846 parameters like so:
16849 (agent-predicate . short)
16852 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16853 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16854 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16856 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16859 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16862 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16863 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16864 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16867 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16868 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16869 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16870 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16871 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16872 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16874 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16875 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16876 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16877 if it's to be specific to that group.
16879 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16886 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16887 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16893 Category specification
16897 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16903 Group Parameter specification
16906 (agent-score ("from"
16907 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16912 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16918 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16925 Category specification
16928 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16934 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16938 Group Parameter specification
16941 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16944 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16949 Use @code{normal} score files
16951 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16952 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16953 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16954 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16956 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16957 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16958 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16959 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16963 Category Specification
16970 Group Parameter specification
16973 (agent-score . file)
16978 @node Category Buffer
16979 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16981 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16982 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16983 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16985 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16989 @kindex q (Category)
16990 @findex gnus-category-exit
16991 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16994 @kindex k (Category)
16995 @findex gnus-category-kill
16996 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16999 @kindex c (Category)
17000 @findex gnus-category-copy
17001 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17004 @kindex a (Category)
17005 @findex gnus-category-add
17006 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17009 @kindex p (Category)
17010 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17011 Edit the predicate of the current category
17012 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17015 @kindex g (Category)
17016 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17017 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17018 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17021 @kindex s (Category)
17022 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17023 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17024 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17027 @kindex l (Category)
17028 @findex gnus-category-list
17029 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17033 @node Category Variables
17034 @subsubsection Category Variables
17037 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17038 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17039 Hook run in category buffers.
17041 @item gnus-category-line-format
17042 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17043 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17044 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17048 The name of the category.
17051 The number of groups in the category.
17054 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17055 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17056 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17058 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17059 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17060 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17062 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17063 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17064 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17066 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17067 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17068 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17071 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17072 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17073 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17079 @node Agent Commands
17080 @subsection Agent Commands
17082 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17083 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17084 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17088 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17089 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17090 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17096 @node Group Agent Commands
17097 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17101 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17102 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17103 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17104 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17107 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17108 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17109 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17112 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17113 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17114 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17115 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17118 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17119 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17120 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17121 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17124 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17125 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17126 Add the current group to an Agent category
17127 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17128 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17131 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17132 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17133 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17134 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17135 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17138 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17139 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17140 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17146 @node Summary Agent Commands
17147 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17151 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17152 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17153 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17156 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17157 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17158 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17159 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17163 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17164 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17165 Toggle whether to download the article
17166 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17170 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17171 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17172 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17175 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17176 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17177 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17178 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17181 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17182 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17183 Download all processable articles in this group.
17184 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17187 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17188 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17189 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17190 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17195 @node Server Agent Commands
17196 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17200 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17201 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17202 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17203 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17206 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17207 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17208 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17209 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17214 @node Agent as Cache
17215 @subsection Agent as Cache
17217 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17218 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17219 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17220 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17221 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17222 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17223 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17224 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17225 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17227 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17228 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17231 @subsection Agent Expiry
17233 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17234 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17235 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17236 @cindex Agent expiry
17237 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17240 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17241 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17242 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17243 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17244 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17245 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17247 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17248 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17249 synchronized with the group.
17251 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17252 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17253 expiry in different groups.
17256 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17262 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17263 method---it must always match all groups. Also, for a regexp to match,
17264 it must match from the beginning of the group's name.
17266 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17267 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17268 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17269 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17270 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17272 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17273 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17274 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17276 @node Agent Regeneration
17277 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17279 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17280 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17281 @cindex regeneration
17283 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17284 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17285 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17286 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17287 internal inconsistencies.
17289 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17290 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17291 know about articles downloaded prior to the connection failure.
17292 Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17293 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17294 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17296 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17297 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17298 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17299 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17300 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17301 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17303 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17304 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17305 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17306 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17307 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17308 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17311 @node Agent and IMAP
17312 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17314 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17315 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17316 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17317 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17319 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17320 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17321 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17322 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17324 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17325 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17326 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17327 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17329 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17330 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17331 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17332 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17333 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17334 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17336 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17337 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17338 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17339 in the group buffer.
17341 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17342 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17347 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17350 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17354 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17355 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17356 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17357 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17358 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17359 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17360 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17361 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17364 @node Outgoing Messages
17365 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17367 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17368 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17369 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17371 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17372 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17373 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17374 messages in the draft group.
17378 @node Agent Variables
17379 @subsection Agent Variables
17382 @item gnus-agent-directory
17383 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17384 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17385 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17387 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17388 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17389 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17390 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17391 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17394 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17395 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17396 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17398 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17399 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17400 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17402 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17403 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17404 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17406 @item gnus-agent-cache
17407 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17408 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17409 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17410 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17412 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17413 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17414 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17415 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17416 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17417 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17418 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17421 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17422 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17423 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
17424 mark articles as unread after downloading. The default is t.
17426 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17427 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17428 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
17429 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
17430 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
17432 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17433 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17434 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
17435 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
17436 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
17437 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
17438 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
17439 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
17440 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
17441 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
17442 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
17443 available while unplugged).
17445 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17446 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17447 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17448 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17449 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17450 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17451 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17452 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17453 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17458 @node Example Setup
17459 @subsection Example Setup
17461 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17462 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17463 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17466 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17467 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17468 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17470 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17471 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17472 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17474 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17475 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17477 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17478 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17479 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17482 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17483 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17486 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17487 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17488 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17489 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17490 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17493 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17494 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17495 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17496 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17497 back all the killed groups.)
17499 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17500 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17501 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17504 @node Batching Agents
17505 @subsection Batching Agents
17507 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17508 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17509 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17511 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17512 following incantation:
17516 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17520 @node Agent Caveats
17521 @subsection Agent Caveats
17523 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17524 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17528 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17530 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17531 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17532 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17534 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17536 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17540 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17541 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
17542 locally stored articles.
17549 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17550 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17551 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17554 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17555 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17556 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17557 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17558 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17560 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17561 before generating the summary buffer.
17563 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17564 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17565 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17567 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17568 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17569 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17570 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17573 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17574 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17575 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17576 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17577 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17578 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17579 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17580 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17581 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17582 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17583 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17584 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17585 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17586 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17587 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17588 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17589 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17593 @node Summary Score Commands
17594 @section Summary Score Commands
17595 @cindex score commands
17597 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17598 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17599 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17600 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17601 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17603 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17604 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17605 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17606 score file the current one.
17608 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17613 @kindex V s (Summary)
17614 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17615 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17618 @kindex V S (Summary)
17619 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17620 Display the score of the current article
17621 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17624 @kindex V t (Summary)
17625 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17626 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17627 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17630 @kindex V w (Summary)
17631 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17632 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17635 @kindex V R (Summary)
17636 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17637 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17638 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17639 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17640 effect you're having.
17643 @kindex V c (Summary)
17644 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17645 Make a different score file the current
17646 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17649 @kindex V e (Summary)
17650 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17651 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17652 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17656 @kindex V f (Summary)
17657 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17658 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17659 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17662 @kindex V F (Summary)
17663 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17664 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17665 after editing score files.
17668 @kindex V C (Summary)
17669 @findex gnus-score-customize
17670 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17671 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17675 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17680 @kindex V m (Summary)
17681 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17682 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17683 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17686 @kindex V x (Summary)
17687 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17688 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17689 expunge all articles below this score
17690 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17693 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17694 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17697 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17698 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17702 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17703 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17705 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17706 keys are available:
17710 Score on the author name.
17713 Score on the subject line.
17716 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17719 Score on the @code{References} line.
17725 Score on the number of lines.
17728 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17731 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17732 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17735 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17736 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17737 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17746 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17752 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17753 what headers you are scoring on.
17765 Substring matching.
17768 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17797 Greater than number.
17802 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17803 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17804 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17809 Temporary score entry.
17812 Permanent score entry.
17815 Immediately scoring.
17819 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17820 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17821 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17825 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17826 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17827 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17828 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17830 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17831 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17832 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17833 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17834 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17836 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17837 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17838 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17839 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17840 current score file.
17842 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17843 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17844 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17847 @node Group Score Commands
17848 @section Group Score Commands
17849 @cindex group score commands
17851 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17856 @kindex W f (Group)
17857 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17858 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17859 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17860 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17864 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17866 @findex gnus-batch-score
17867 @cindex batch scoring
17869 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17873 @node Score Variables
17874 @section Score Variables
17875 @cindex score variables
17879 @item gnus-use-scoring
17880 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17881 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17882 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17884 @item gnus-kill-killed
17885 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17886 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17887 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17888 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17889 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17890 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17891 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17893 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17894 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17895 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17896 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17897 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17899 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17900 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17901 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17902 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17904 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17905 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17906 @cindex score cache
17907 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17908 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17909 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17910 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17911 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17912 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17915 @item gnus-save-score
17916 @vindex gnus-save-score
17917 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17918 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17919 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17921 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17922 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17923 across group visits.
17925 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17926 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17927 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17928 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17929 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17930 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17931 manually entered data.
17933 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17934 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17935 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17937 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17938 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17939 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17940 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17941 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17942 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17944 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17945 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17946 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17947 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17949 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17950 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17951 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17952 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17954 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17955 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17956 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17957 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17959 Predefined functions available are:
17962 @item gnus-score-find-single
17963 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17964 Only apply the group's own score file.
17966 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17967 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17968 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17969 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17970 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17971 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17972 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17973 then a regexp match is done.
17975 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17976 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17978 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17979 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17980 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17981 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17983 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17984 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17985 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17986 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17987 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17991 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17992 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17993 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17994 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17995 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17996 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17997 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18000 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18001 overall score file, you could use the value
18003 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18004 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18007 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18008 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18009 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18010 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18011 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18013 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18014 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18015 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18016 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18017 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18018 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18019 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18020 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18022 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18023 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18024 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18026 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18027 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18028 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18029 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18030 threading---according to the current value of
18031 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18032 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18033 simplified in this manner.
18038 @node Score File Format
18039 @section Score File Format
18040 @cindex score file format
18042 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18043 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18044 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18046 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18050 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18052 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18054 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18056 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18061 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18065 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18066 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18067 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18068 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18072 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18073 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18075 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18076 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18077 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18079 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18084 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18085 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18086 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18087 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18088 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18089 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18090 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18091 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18092 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18093 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18094 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18095 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18096 to articles that matches these score entries.
18098 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18099 score entry has one to four elements.
18103 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18104 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18108 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18109 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18110 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18111 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18112 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18113 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18116 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18117 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18118 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18119 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18120 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18123 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18124 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18125 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18126 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18129 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18130 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18131 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18132 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18133 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18134 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18135 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18136 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18137 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18138 instead, if you feel like.
18141 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18142 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18143 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18144 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18145 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18146 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18149 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18153 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18154 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18156 These predicates are true if
18159 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18162 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18163 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18170 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18171 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18172 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18173 it's not. I think.)
18175 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18176 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18177 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18178 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18181 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18182 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18183 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18184 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18185 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18186 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18187 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18191 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18192 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18193 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18194 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18195 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18196 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18197 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18198 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18201 @item Head, Body, All
18202 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18206 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18207 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18208 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18209 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18210 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18211 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18212 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18216 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18217 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18218 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18219 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18220 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18221 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18222 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18223 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18224 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18225 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18226 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18230 @cindex Score File Atoms
18232 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18233 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18236 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18237 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18239 @item mark-and-expunge
18240 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18241 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18244 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18245 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18246 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18247 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18248 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18251 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18252 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18255 @item exclude-files
18256 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18257 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18261 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18262 ignored when handling global score files.
18265 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18266 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18267 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18268 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18271 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18272 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18273 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18274 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18276 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18280 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18283 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18284 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18285 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18286 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18287 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18289 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18290 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18291 scoring rules exist.
18294 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18295 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18296 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18297 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18298 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18299 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18300 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18301 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18302 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18303 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18304 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18308 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18309 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18310 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18311 file for a number of groups.
18314 @cindex local variables
18315 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18316 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18317 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18318 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18319 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18323 @node Score File Editing
18324 @section Score File Editing
18326 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18327 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18328 with a mode for that.
18330 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18331 additional commands:
18336 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18337 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18338 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18339 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18342 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18343 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18344 Insert the current date in numerical format
18345 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18346 you were wondering.
18349 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18350 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18351 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18352 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18353 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18358 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18360 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18361 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18363 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18364 e} to begin editing score files.
18367 @node Adaptive Scoring
18368 @section Adaptive Scoring
18369 @cindex adaptive scoring
18371 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18372 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18373 stupidity, to be precise.
18375 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18376 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18377 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18378 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18379 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18380 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18381 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18382 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18383 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18385 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18386 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18387 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18388 might look something like this:
18391 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18392 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18393 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18394 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18395 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18396 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18397 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18398 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18399 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18400 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18401 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18402 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18405 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18406 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18407 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18408 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18409 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18410 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18413 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18414 will be applied to each article.
18416 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18417 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18418 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18419 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18421 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18422 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18423 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18424 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18426 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18427 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18428 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18429 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18431 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18432 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18433 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18434 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18435 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18436 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18438 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18439 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18440 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18442 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18443 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18444 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18446 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18447 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18448 let you use different rules in different groups.
18450 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18451 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18452 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18455 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18456 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18457 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18458 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18459 the length of the match is less than
18460 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18461 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18464 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18465 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18466 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18467 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18468 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18471 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18472 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18473 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18474 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18475 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18478 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18479 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18480 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18481 score with 30 points.
18483 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18484 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18485 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18486 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18487 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18489 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18490 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18491 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18492 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18493 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18495 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18496 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18497 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18498 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18500 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18501 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18502 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18503 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18505 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18506 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18507 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18508 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18509 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18511 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18512 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18513 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18515 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18516 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18517 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18518 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18521 @node Home Score File
18522 @section Home Score File
18524 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18525 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18526 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18527 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18529 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18530 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18531 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18533 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18534 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18539 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18543 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18544 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18548 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18552 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18553 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18556 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18557 the home score file.
18560 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18563 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18568 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18571 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18572 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18575 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18576 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18578 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18580 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18581 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18584 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18585 Other functions include
18588 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18589 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18590 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18591 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18595 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18596 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18597 their own home score files:
18600 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18601 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18602 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18603 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18604 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18607 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18608 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18609 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18610 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18611 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18613 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18614 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18615 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18616 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18617 precedence over this variable.
18620 @node Followups To Yourself
18621 @section Followups To Yourself
18623 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18624 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18625 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18626 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18627 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18628 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18632 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18633 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18634 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18637 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18638 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18639 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18643 @vindex message-sent-hook
18644 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18645 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18647 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18651 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18652 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18656 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18657 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18660 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18661 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18666 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18670 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18671 is system-dependent.
18674 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18675 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18676 @cindex scoring on other headers
18678 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18679 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18680 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18681 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18682 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18684 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18685 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18686 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18687 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18688 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18690 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18693 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18694 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18697 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18698 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18699 time if you have much mail.
18701 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18702 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18708 @section Scoring Tips
18709 @cindex scoring tips
18715 @cindex scoring crossposts
18716 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18717 the @code{Xref} header.
18719 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18722 @item Multiple crossposts
18723 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18724 more than, say, 3 groups:
18727 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18731 @item Matching on the body
18732 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18733 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18734 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18735 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18736 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18737 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18738 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18741 @item Marking as read
18742 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18743 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18744 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18748 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18750 @item Negated character classes
18751 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18752 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18753 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18757 @node Reverse Scoring
18758 @section Reverse Scoring
18759 @cindex reverse scoring
18761 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18762 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18763 like this in your score file:
18767 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18772 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18773 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18776 @node Global Score Files
18777 @section Global Score Files
18778 @cindex global score files
18780 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18781 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18782 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18784 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18785 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18786 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18788 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18789 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18790 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18791 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18792 files are applicable to which group.
18794 To use the score file
18795 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18796 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18800 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18801 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18802 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18805 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18807 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18808 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18809 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18810 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18812 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18813 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18815 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18816 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18817 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18818 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18819 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18820 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18822 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18828 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18830 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18832 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18834 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18835 lowered out of existence.
18837 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18838 articles completely.
18841 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18842 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18843 old articles for a long time.
18846 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18847 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18848 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18849 holding our breath yet?
18853 @section Kill Files
18856 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18857 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18858 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18860 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18861 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18862 files into score files.
18864 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18865 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18866 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18867 that isn't a very good idea.
18869 Normal kill files look like this:
18872 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18873 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18877 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18878 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18880 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18881 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18884 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18889 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18890 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18891 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18894 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18895 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18896 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18899 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18904 @kindex M-k (Group)
18905 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18906 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18909 @kindex M-K (Group)
18910 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18911 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18914 Kill file variables:
18917 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18918 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18919 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18920 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18921 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18922 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18923 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18925 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18926 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18927 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18928 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18931 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18932 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18933 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18934 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18935 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18936 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18937 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18938 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18939 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18941 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18942 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18943 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18948 @node Converting Kill Files
18949 @section Converting Kill Files
18951 @cindex converting kill files
18953 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18954 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18955 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18958 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18959 You can fetch it from
18960 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18962 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18963 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18964 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18972 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18973 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18974 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18975 news articles generated every day.
18977 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18978 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18979 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18980 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18981 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18982 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18983 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18984 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18987 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18988 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18991 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18992 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18993 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18994 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18998 @node Using GroupLens
18999 @subsection Using GroupLens
19001 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19003 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19004 better bit in town at the moment.
19006 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19010 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19011 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19012 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19013 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19015 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19016 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19017 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19018 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19020 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19021 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19022 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19026 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19027 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19028 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19029 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19030 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19031 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19034 @node Rating Articles
19035 @subsection Rating Articles
19037 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19038 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19039 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19040 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19043 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19048 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19049 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19050 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19053 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19054 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19055 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19056 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19057 threads in rec.humor.
19061 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19062 the score of the article you're reading.
19067 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19068 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19069 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19072 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19073 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19074 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19078 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19079 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19082 @node Displaying Predictions
19083 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19085 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19086 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19087 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19088 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19089 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19091 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19092 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19093 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19094 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19095 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19096 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19097 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19098 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19099 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19100 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19101 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19102 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19103 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19105 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19106 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19107 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19108 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19110 The following are valid values for that variable.
19113 @item prediction-spot
19114 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19117 @item confidence-interval
19118 A numeric confidence interval.
19120 @item prediction-bar
19121 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19123 @item confidence-bar
19124 Numerical confidence.
19126 @item confidence-spot
19127 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19129 @item prediction-num
19130 Plain-old numeric value.
19132 @item confidence-plus-minus
19133 Prediction +/- confidence.
19138 @node GroupLens Variables
19139 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19143 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19144 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19145 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19146 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19149 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19150 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19153 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19154 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19156 @item grouplens-score-offset
19157 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19158 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19161 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19162 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19163 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19168 @node Advanced Scoring
19169 @section Advanced Scoring
19171 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19172 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19173 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19174 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19175 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19177 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19181 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19182 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19183 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19187 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19188 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19190 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19191 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19192 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19193 non-@code{nil} value.
19195 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19196 operator, and various match operators.
19203 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19204 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19205 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19210 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19211 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19212 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19217 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19218 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19222 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19223 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19224 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19225 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19226 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19227 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19228 the ancestry you want to go.
19230 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19231 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19232 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19233 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19234 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19237 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19238 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19240 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19241 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19244 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19245 when he's talking about Gnus:
19249 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19250 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19256 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19260 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19267 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19268 really don't want to read what he's written:
19272 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19273 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19277 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19278 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19279 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19286 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19287 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19288 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19289 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19293 The possibilities are endless.
19296 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19297 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19299 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19300 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19301 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19302 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19303 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19304 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19305 @samp{subject}) first.
19307 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19308 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19319 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19320 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19326 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19333 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19334 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19339 @section Score Decays
19340 @cindex score decays
19343 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19344 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19345 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19346 use them in any sensible way.
19348 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19349 @findex gnus-decay-score
19350 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19351 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19352 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19353 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19354 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19355 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19356 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19357 definition of that function:
19360 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19362 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19363 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19366 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19368 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19370 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19373 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19374 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19375 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19376 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19380 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19383 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19386 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19390 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19391 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19392 the new score, which should be an integer.
19394 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19395 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19400 @include message.texi
19401 @chapter Emacs MIME
19402 @include emacs-mime.texi
19404 @include sieve.texi
19406 @c @include pgg.texi
19414 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19415 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19416 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19417 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19418 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19419 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19420 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19421 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19422 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19423 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19424 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19425 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19426 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19427 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19428 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19429 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19430 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19431 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19432 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19436 @node Process/Prefix
19437 @section Process/Prefix
19438 @cindex process/prefix convention
19440 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19441 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19443 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19444 command to be performed on.
19448 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19449 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19450 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19451 with the current one.
19453 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19454 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19455 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19457 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19458 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19461 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19462 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19464 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19467 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19468 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19469 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19470 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19472 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19473 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19474 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19475 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19476 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19477 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19478 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19479 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19481 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19482 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19483 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19484 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19485 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19489 @section Interactive
19490 @cindex interaction
19494 @item gnus-novice-user
19495 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19496 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19497 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19498 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19499 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19502 @item gnus-expert-user
19503 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19504 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19505 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19506 matter how strange.
19508 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19509 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19510 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19511 is @code{t} by default.
19513 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19514 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19515 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19520 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19521 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19522 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19524 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19525 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19526 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19527 rule of 900 to the current article.
19529 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19530 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19531 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19532 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19533 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19534 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19535 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19537 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19538 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19539 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19540 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19541 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19542 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19543 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19544 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19545 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19547 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19548 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19549 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19551 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19555 @node Formatting Variables
19556 @section Formatting Variables
19557 @cindex formatting variables
19559 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19560 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19561 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19562 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19563 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19566 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19567 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19568 lots of percentages everywhere.
19571 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19572 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19573 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19574 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19575 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19576 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19577 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19578 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19581 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19582 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19583 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19584 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19585 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19586 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19587 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19588 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19590 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19591 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19593 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19594 @findex gnus-update-format
19595 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19596 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19597 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19598 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19602 @node Formatting Basics
19603 @subsection Formatting Basics
19605 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19606 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19607 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19609 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19610 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19611 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19612 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19613 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19616 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19617 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19618 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19619 less than 4 characters wide.
19621 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19622 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19625 @node Mode Line Formatting
19626 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19628 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19629 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19630 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19631 with the following two differences:
19636 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19639 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19640 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19641 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19642 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19643 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19644 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19645 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19650 @node Advanced Formatting
19651 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19653 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19654 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19655 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19656 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19658 These are the valid modifiers:
19663 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19667 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19672 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19675 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19680 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19683 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19686 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19689 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19695 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19700 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19701 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19702 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19703 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19704 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19705 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19706 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19708 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19709 last operation, padding.
19711 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19712 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19713 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19714 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19715 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19716 the look of your lines.
19717 @xref{Compilation}.
19720 @node User-Defined Specs
19721 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19723 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19724 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19725 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19726 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19727 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19728 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19729 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19730 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19731 should protect against that.
19733 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19734 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19736 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19737 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19738 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19739 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19743 @node Formatting Fonts
19744 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19746 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19747 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19748 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19749 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19752 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19753 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19754 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19755 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19756 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19757 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19759 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19760 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19761 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19762 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19763 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19764 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19765 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19766 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19767 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19768 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19770 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19773 ;; Create three face types.
19774 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19775 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19777 ;; We want the article count to be in
19778 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19779 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19780 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19782 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19783 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19785 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19786 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19787 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19790 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19791 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19793 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19794 mode-line variables.
19796 @node Positioning Point
19797 @subsection Positioning Point
19799 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19800 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19801 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19803 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19805 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19806 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19807 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19809 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19810 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19811 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19816 @subsection Tabulation
19818 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19819 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19820 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19821 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19823 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19824 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19826 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19827 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19828 This is the soft tabulator.
19830 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19831 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19832 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19835 @node Wide Characters
19836 @subsection Wide Characters
19838 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19839 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19840 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19842 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19843 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19844 these countries, that's not true.
19846 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19847 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19848 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19849 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19853 @node Window Layout
19854 @section Window Layout
19855 @cindex window layout
19857 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19859 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19860 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19861 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19862 @code{t} by default.
19864 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19865 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19867 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19868 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19869 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19872 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19873 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19874 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19878 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19879 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19880 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19881 possible names is listed below.
19883 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19884 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19887 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19891 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19892 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19893 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19894 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19895 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19896 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19897 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19898 size spec per split.
19900 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19901 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19902 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19903 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19904 present) gets focus.
19906 Here's a more complicated example:
19909 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19910 (summary 0.25 point)
19911 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19915 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19916 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19917 occupy, not a percentage.
19919 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19920 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19921 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19922 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19923 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19926 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19929 (article (horizontal 1.0
19934 (summary 0.25 point)
19939 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19940 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19942 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19943 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19944 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19945 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19946 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19948 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19949 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19950 lines from the splits.
19952 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19956 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19957 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19958 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19959 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19960 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19961 size = number | frame-params
19962 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19965 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19966 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19967 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19968 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19970 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19971 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19972 @cindex window height
19973 @cindex window width
19974 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19975 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19976 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19977 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19978 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19979 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19981 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19982 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19983 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19984 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19986 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19987 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19988 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19989 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19990 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19991 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19992 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19993 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19994 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19995 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19996 configuration list.
19999 (gnus-configure-frame
20003 (article 0.3 point))
20011 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20012 @code{frame} split:
20015 (gnus-configure-frame
20018 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20020 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20021 (user-position . t)
20022 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20027 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20028 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20029 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20030 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20031 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20032 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20033 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20034 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20036 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20037 be found in its default value.
20039 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20040 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20041 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20045 (message (horizontal 1.0
20046 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20048 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20053 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20054 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20055 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20060 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20061 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20062 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20063 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20064 (name . "Message"))
20065 (message 1.0 point))))
20068 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20069 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20070 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20071 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20072 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20075 (gnus-add-configuration
20076 '(article (vertical 1.0
20078 (summary .25 point)
20082 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20083 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20084 Gnus has been loaded.
20086 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20087 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20088 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20089 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20090 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20092 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20093 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20094 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20097 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20101 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20102 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20117 (gnus-add-configuration
20120 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20122 (summary 0.16 point)
20125 (gnus-add-configuration
20128 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20129 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20135 @node Faces and Fonts
20136 @section Faces and Fonts
20141 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20142 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20143 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20148 @section Compilation
20149 @cindex compilation
20150 @cindex byte-compilation
20152 @findex gnus-compile
20154 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20155 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20156 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20157 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20158 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20159 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20160 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20161 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20164 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20165 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20166 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20167 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20168 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20171 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20172 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20173 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20174 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20175 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20180 @section Mode Lines
20183 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20184 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20185 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20186 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20187 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20188 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20189 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20192 @cindex display-time
20194 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20195 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20196 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20197 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20198 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20199 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20200 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20201 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20204 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20206 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20207 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20209 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20210 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20211 (length display-time-string)))))
20214 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20215 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20216 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20217 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20218 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20221 @node Highlighting and Menus
20222 @section Highlighting and Menus
20224 @cindex highlighting
20227 @vindex gnus-visual
20228 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20229 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20230 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20233 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20234 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20237 @item group-highlight
20238 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20239 @item summary-highlight
20240 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20241 @item article-highlight
20242 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20244 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20246 Create menus in the group buffer.
20248 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20250 Create menus in the article buffer.
20252 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20254 Create menus in the server buffer.
20256 Create menus in the score buffers.
20258 Create menus in all buffers.
20261 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20262 buffers, you could say something like:
20265 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20268 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20271 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20274 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20275 in all Gnus buffers.
20277 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20280 @item gnus-mouse-face
20281 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20282 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20283 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20287 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20291 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20292 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20293 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20295 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20296 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20297 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20299 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20300 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20301 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20303 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20304 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20305 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20307 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20308 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20309 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20311 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20312 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20313 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20324 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20325 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20326 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20327 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20328 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20332 @vindex gnus-carpal
20333 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20334 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20335 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20340 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20341 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20342 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20344 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20345 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20346 Face used on buttons.
20348 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20349 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20350 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20352 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20353 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20354 Buttons in the group buffer.
20356 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20357 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20358 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20360 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20361 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20362 Buttons in the server buffer.
20364 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20365 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20366 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20369 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20370 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20371 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20379 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20380 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20381 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20382 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20383 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20385 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20386 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20387 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20389 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20390 been idle for thirty minutes:
20393 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20396 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20400 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20403 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20404 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20405 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20407 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20408 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20409 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20410 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20412 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20413 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20414 @var{idle} minutes.
20416 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20417 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20420 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20421 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20422 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20424 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20425 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20426 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20427 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20429 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20430 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20432 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20434 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20437 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20438 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20439 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20440 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20441 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20442 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20443 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20444 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20445 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20446 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20447 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20449 @findex gnus-demon-init
20450 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20451 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20452 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20453 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20454 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20456 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20457 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20458 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20467 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20468 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20470 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20471 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20472 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20473 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20476 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20477 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20478 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20479 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20481 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20482 this will make spam disappear.
20484 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20487 @item gnus-use-nocem
20488 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20489 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20492 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20493 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20494 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20495 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20496 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20498 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20499 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20500 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20501 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20502 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20503 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20505 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20506 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20508 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20509 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20510 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20511 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20512 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20513 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20514 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20515 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20516 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20517 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20519 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20520 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20523 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20526 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20527 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20530 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20533 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20536 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20537 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20539 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20540 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20541 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20542 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20544 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20545 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20548 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20550 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20558 This might be dangerous, though.
20560 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20561 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20562 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20563 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20565 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20566 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20567 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20568 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20569 might then see old spam.
20571 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20572 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20573 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20574 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20575 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20578 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20579 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20580 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20581 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20585 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20586 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20587 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20588 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20595 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20596 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20597 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20599 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20600 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20601 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20602 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20603 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20604 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20605 @code{undo} function.
20607 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20608 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20609 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20610 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20611 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20612 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20613 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20614 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20615 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20616 never be totally undoable.
20618 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20619 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20621 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20622 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20623 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20624 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20628 @node Predicate Specifiers
20629 @section Predicate Specifiers
20630 @cindex predicate specifiers
20632 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20633 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20634 to type all that much.
20636 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20641 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20642 gnus-article-unread-p)
20645 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20646 functions all take one parameter.
20648 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20649 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20650 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20651 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20656 @section Moderation
20659 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20660 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20661 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20664 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20668 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20671 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20673 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20678 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20679 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20680 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20683 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20684 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20687 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20688 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20692 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20695 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20696 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20700 @node Image Enhancements
20701 @section Image Enhancements
20703 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20704 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20707 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20708 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20709 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20710 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20723 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20724 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20725 over your shoulder as you read news.
20727 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20736 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20737 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20738 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20739 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20740 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20741 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20742 @code{GIF} formats.
20745 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20746 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
20747 point your Web browser at
20748 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
20750 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20751 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20753 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
20754 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
20757 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
20761 @item gnus-picon-databases
20762 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20763 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
20764 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20765 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
20766 "/usr/local/faces")}.
20768 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
20769 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
20770 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20771 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20773 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
20774 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
20775 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
20776 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
20778 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
20779 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
20780 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20781 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20782 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20784 @item gnus-picon-file-types
20785 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
20786 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20787 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
20792 @subsection Smileys
20797 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20802 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20803 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20805 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20806 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20809 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20812 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
20813 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20814 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20815 text and maps that to file names.
20817 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
20818 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
20819 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
20820 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
20821 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
20824 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20829 @item smiley-data-directory
20830 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20831 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20833 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
20834 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
20835 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
20844 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20845 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20846 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20850 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20851 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20852 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20853 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20861 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20862 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20863 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20864 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20866 The variable that controls this is the
20867 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20868 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20869 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20870 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20871 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20873 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20874 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20875 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20876 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20879 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20880 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20881 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20882 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20883 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20884 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20885 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20886 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20888 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20891 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20892 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20894 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20895 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
20896 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20897 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20898 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20899 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
20900 header data as a string.
20902 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
20903 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
20904 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
20905 randomly generated data.
20907 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
20908 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20909 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20910 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20912 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
20913 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20916 (setq message-required-news-headers
20917 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20918 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20921 Using the last function would be something like this:
20924 (setq message-required-news-headers
20925 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20926 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20927 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20928 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20933 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20936 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20937 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20938 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20939 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20940 unusual directory structure.
20942 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20943 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20944 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20945 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20947 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20948 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20949 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20950 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20951 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20952 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20954 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20955 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20956 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20961 @subsubsection Toolbar
20965 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20966 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20967 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20968 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20969 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20971 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20972 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20973 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20975 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20976 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20977 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20979 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20980 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20981 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20992 @node Fuzzy Matching
20993 @section Fuzzy Matching
20994 @cindex fuzzy matching
20996 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20997 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20999 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21000 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21001 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21003 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21004 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21005 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21006 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21007 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21010 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21011 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21015 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21017 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21018 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21019 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21020 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21021 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21022 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21023 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21024 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21027 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21028 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21029 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21030 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21031 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21032 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21034 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21037 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21038 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21039 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21040 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21041 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21042 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21045 @node The problem of spam
21046 @subsection The problem of spam
21048 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21049 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21051 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21053 First, some background on spam.
21055 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21056 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21057 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21058 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21059 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21060 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21061 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21062 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21064 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21065 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21066 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21067 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21068 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21069 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21070 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21071 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21072 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21075 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21076 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21077 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21078 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21079 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21080 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21081 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21082 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21083 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21084 mail can be useful.
21086 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21087 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21088 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21089 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21090 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21091 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21092 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21093 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21094 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21096 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21097 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21098 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21099 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21100 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21101 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21102 because of the incident.
21104 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21105 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21106 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21107 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21108 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21109 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21110 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21111 to store the database of spam analyses.
21113 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21114 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21118 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21120 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21121 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21123 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21124 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21125 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21126 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21127 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21128 part of the mail address.)
21131 (setq message-default-news-headers
21132 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21135 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21136 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21141 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21142 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21143 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21149 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21150 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21151 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21152 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21154 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21155 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21156 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21157 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21158 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21159 your fancy split rule in this way:
21164 (to "larsi" "misc")
21168 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21169 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21170 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21171 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21172 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21174 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21175 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21176 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21177 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21178 cosmic balance somewhat.
21180 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21181 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21182 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21183 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21188 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21189 @cindex SpamAssassin
21190 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21193 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21194 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21195 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21196 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21197 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21198 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21199 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21201 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21202 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21203 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21204 Specifiers}) follows.
21208 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21211 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21214 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21215 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21216 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21219 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21223 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21226 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21227 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21231 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21232 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21233 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21234 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21237 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21239 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21241 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21242 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21244 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21246 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21247 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21251 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21252 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21253 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21256 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21257 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21259 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21260 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21261 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21265 @subsection Hashcash
21268 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21269 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21270 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21271 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21272 in smaller communities.
21274 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21275 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21276 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21277 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21278 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21279 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21280 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21281 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21282 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21283 one of them separately.
21286 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21287 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21288 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21289 header. For more details, and for the external application
21290 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21291 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21292 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21294 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21298 (require 'hashcash)
21299 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21302 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21303 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21304 development contrib directory.
21306 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21310 @item hashcash-default-payment
21311 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21312 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21313 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21314 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21316 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21317 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21318 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21319 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21320 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21321 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21322 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21323 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21327 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21331 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21332 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21333 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21334 a useful contribution, however.
21336 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21337 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21338 @cindex spam filtering
21341 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21342 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21343 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21344 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21347 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21348 the following keyboard commands:
21358 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21359 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21361 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{H} mark.
21362 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21363 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21364 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21370 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21371 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21373 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21379 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21380 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21383 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21384 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21385 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21386 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21387 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21388 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21389 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21390 will be detected later.
21392 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21393 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21394 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21395 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21396 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21397 by customizing the corresponding variable
21398 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21399 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21400 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21401 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21402 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21403 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21404 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21407 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21408 they get the @samp{H} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21409 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{H} mark for
21410 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{H}
21411 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21412 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21413 spam-marked (@samp{H}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21414 will study them as spam samples.
21416 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21417 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21418 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21419 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21420 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21421 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21422 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21423 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21425 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21426 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21427 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21428 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21431 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21432 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21433 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21436 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21437 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21438 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21439 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21440 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21441 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{H},
21444 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21445 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21446 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21447 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21448 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21449 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21450 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21451 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21452 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21453 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21454 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21456 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21457 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21459 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21460 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21461 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21462 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21463 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21464 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21465 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21466 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21467 the spam articles are only expired.
21469 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21470 must add the following to your fancy split list
21471 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21477 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21478 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21479 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21481 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21482 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21483 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21484 but you can customize it.
21486 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21488 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21489 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21490 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21491 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21492 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21493 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21494 because it will slow IMAP down.
21496 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21498 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21499 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21500 longer spam or ham.}
21502 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21503 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21506 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21507 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21510 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21511 * BBDB Whitelists::
21514 * ifile spam filtering::
21515 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21516 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21519 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21520 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21521 @cindex spam filtering
21522 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21523 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21526 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21527 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
21528 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
21529 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
21530 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
21534 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21535 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
21536 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
21537 whitelist will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an
21538 implicit filter, meaning it believes everyone to be a spammer unless
21539 told otherwise. Use with care.
21542 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21543 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21544 customizing the group parameters or the
21545 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21546 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21547 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21550 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21551 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21552 customizing the group parameters or the
21553 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21554 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21555 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21556 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21557 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21560 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21561 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21562 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21563 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21564 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21566 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21567 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21568 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21569 whitelists is very comprehensive or permissive. Also see @ref{BBDB
21570 Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21573 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21574 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21575 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21576 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21577 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21578 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21580 @node BBDB Whitelists
21581 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21582 @cindex spam filtering
21583 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21584 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21587 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21589 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21590 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21591 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21592 @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21593 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21597 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21598 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21599 customizing the group parameters or the
21600 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21601 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21602 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21603 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21604 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21608 @subsubsection Blackholes
21609 @cindex spam filtering
21610 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21613 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21615 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21616 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21617 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21618 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21619 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21620 contains outdated servers.
21622 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21623 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21624 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21625 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21626 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21627 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21631 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21633 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21637 @defvar spam-use-dig
21639 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21640 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
21644 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21645 ham processor for blackholes.
21648 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21649 @cindex spam filtering
21650 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21653 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21655 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21658 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{H} mark for spam
21659 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21660 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21661 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
21662 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
21663 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
21665 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
21666 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
21669 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21670 processing will be turned off.
21672 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
21676 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
21678 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21679 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
21680 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
21681 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
21682 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
21683 installation documents for details.
21685 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
21689 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21690 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21691 customizing the group parameters or the
21692 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21693 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21694 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
21697 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
21698 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21699 customizing the group parameters or the
21700 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21701 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21702 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
21703 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21704 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21707 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
21709 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
21710 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
21711 database directory.
21715 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
21716 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21717 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
21718 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
21719 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
21720 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
21722 @node ifile spam filtering
21723 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21724 @cindex spam filtering
21725 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21728 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21730 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21731 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21735 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21737 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21738 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21739 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21743 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21745 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21746 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21747 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21750 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21752 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21753 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21757 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21758 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21759 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21760 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21763 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21764 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21765 @cindex spam filtering
21766 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21770 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
21772 @defvar spam-use-stat
21774 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21775 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21779 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21780 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21781 customizing the group parameters or the
21782 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21783 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21784 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21787 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21788 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21789 customizing the group parameters or the
21790 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21791 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21792 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21793 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21794 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21797 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21798 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21799 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21800 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21803 @node Extending the spam elisp package
21804 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
21805 @cindex spam filtering
21806 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
21807 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
21809 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21810 incoming mail, provide the following:
21818 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21819 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21824 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21826 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21831 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21832 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21833 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21836 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21843 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21844 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21847 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21848 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21849 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21851 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21852 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21853 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
21861 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
21862 (spam-generic-register-routine
21863 ;; the spam function
21865 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21866 (when (stringp from)
21867 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
21868 ;; the ham function
21871 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
21872 (spam-generic-register-routine
21873 ;; the spam function
21875 ;; the ham function
21877 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21878 (when (stringp from)
21879 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
21882 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
21883 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
21884 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
21885 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
21886 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
21887 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
21892 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
21893 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
21894 @cindex Paul Graham
21895 @cindex Graham, Paul
21896 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
21897 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
21898 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
21900 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
21901 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
21902 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
21903 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
21904 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
21905 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
21906 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
21907 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
21908 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
21911 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
21912 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
21913 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
21914 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
21915 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
21916 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
21917 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
21918 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
21920 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
21921 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
21922 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
21923 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
21924 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
21927 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
21928 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
21929 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
21932 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21933 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21935 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
21936 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
21937 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
21938 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
21939 need several hundred emails in both collections.
21941 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
21942 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
21943 per mail. Use the following:
21945 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
21946 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
21947 is treated as one spam mail.
21950 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
21951 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
21952 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
21955 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
21956 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
21957 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
21958 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
21959 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
21960 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
21962 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
21963 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
21964 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
21965 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
21966 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
21969 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
21970 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
21971 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
21972 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
21975 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
21976 reset the dictionary.
21978 @defun spam-stat-reset
21979 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
21982 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
21983 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
21984 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
21985 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
21986 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
21987 only non-spam mails.
21989 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
21990 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
21991 to update the dictionary incrementally.
21994 @defun spam-stat-save
21995 Save the dictionary.
21998 @defvar spam-stat-file
21999 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22000 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22003 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22004 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22006 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22007 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22010 (require 'spam-stat)
22014 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22017 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22018 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22019 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22020 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22022 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22023 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22024 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22025 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22028 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22029 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22033 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22034 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22037 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22038 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22039 expression are considered potential spam.
22042 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22043 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22044 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22048 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22049 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22050 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22051 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22052 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22055 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22056 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22057 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22061 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22062 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22063 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22064 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22065 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22069 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22070 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22071 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22072 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22077 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22078 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22080 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22082 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22083 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22084 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22087 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22088 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22089 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22092 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22093 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22094 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22095 already been processed as non-spam.
22098 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22099 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22100 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22101 been processed as spam.
22104 @defun spam-stat-save
22105 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22106 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22109 @defun spam-stat-load
22110 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22111 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22114 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22115 Return the spam score for a word.
22118 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22119 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22122 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22123 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22124 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22127 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22128 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22131 (require 'spam-stat)
22135 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22138 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22139 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22140 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22141 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22142 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22143 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22144 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22145 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22146 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22147 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22148 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22149 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22150 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22151 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22154 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22157 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22158 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22159 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22160 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22161 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22162 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22165 @node Various Various
22166 @section Various Various
22172 @item gnus-home-directory
22173 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22174 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22176 @item gnus-directory
22177 @vindex gnus-directory
22178 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22179 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22180 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22182 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22183 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22184 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22185 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22187 @item gnus-default-directory
22188 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22189 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22190 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22191 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22192 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22193 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22194 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22197 @vindex gnus-verbose
22198 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22199 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22200 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22201 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22202 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22204 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22205 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22206 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22207 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22209 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22210 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22211 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22212 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22213 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22214 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22215 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22216 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22217 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22218 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22220 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22221 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22222 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22223 read when doing the operation described above.
22225 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22226 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22228 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22229 @cindex characters in file names
22230 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22231 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22232 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22235 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22239 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22240 Windows (phooey) systems.
22242 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22243 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22244 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22245 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22246 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22248 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22249 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22250 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22251 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22252 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22254 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22255 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22256 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22258 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22259 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22261 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22262 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22263 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22264 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22267 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22275 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22276 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22278 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22280 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22286 Not because of victories @*
22289 but for the common sunshine,@*
22291 the largess of the spring.
22295 but for the day's work done@*
22296 as well as I was able;@*
22297 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22298 but at the common table.@*
22303 @chapter Appendices
22306 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22307 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22308 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22309 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22310 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22311 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22312 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22313 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22314 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22321 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22323 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22324 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22325 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22326 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22327 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22328 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22335 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22336 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22338 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22339 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22340 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22341 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22342 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22344 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22345 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22346 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22347 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22348 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22349 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22351 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22352 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22353 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22354 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22357 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22358 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22359 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22360 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22361 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22362 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22363 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22364 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22365 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22369 @node Gnus Versions
22370 @subsection Gnus Versions
22372 @cindex September Gnus
22374 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22375 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22379 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22380 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22381 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22383 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22384 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22386 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22387 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22389 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22390 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22392 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22393 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22396 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22398 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22399 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22400 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22401 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22402 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22403 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22406 @node Other Gnus Versions
22407 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22410 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22411 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22412 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22413 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22415 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22416 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22417 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22418 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22425 What's the point of Gnus?
22427 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22428 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22429 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22430 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22431 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22432 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22433 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22434 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22435 keep track of millions of people who post?
22437 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22438 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22439 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22440 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22441 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22442 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22443 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22444 every one of you to explore and invent.
22446 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22447 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22450 @node Compatibility
22451 @subsection Compatibility
22453 @cindex compatibility
22454 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22455 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22456 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22461 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22465 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22468 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22471 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22472 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22473 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22474 important variables have their values copied into their global
22475 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22476 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22478 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22479 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22480 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22481 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22482 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22486 @cindex highlighting
22487 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22488 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22489 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22490 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22491 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22492 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22495 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22496 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22497 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22498 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22500 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22501 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22502 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22503 to stop doing it the old way.
22505 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22507 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22509 @cindex reporting bugs
22511 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22512 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22513 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22515 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22516 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22517 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22518 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22523 @subsection Conformity
22525 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22526 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22534 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22538 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22540 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22541 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22542 We do have some breaches to this one.
22548 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22549 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22550 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22551 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22552 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22557 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22558 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22559 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22560 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22562 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22564 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22566 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22567 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22569 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22572 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22573 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22574 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22575 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22576 decoding (verification and decryption).
22578 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22579 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22580 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22581 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22583 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22584 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22586 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22587 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22588 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22589 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22590 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22591 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22592 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22596 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22597 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22602 @subsection Emacsen
22608 Gnus should work on :
22616 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
22620 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22621 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22622 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
22623 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
22624 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
22626 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22627 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22628 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22632 @node Gnus Development
22633 @subsection Gnus Development
22635 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22636 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22637 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22638 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22639 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22640 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22641 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22642 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22644 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22645 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22646 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22647 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22648 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22651 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22652 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22653 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22654 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22655 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22657 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22658 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22659 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22660 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22661 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22662 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22663 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22664 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22665 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22666 can't be assumed to do so.
22671 @subsection Contributors
22672 @cindex contributors
22674 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22675 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22676 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22677 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22678 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22679 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22680 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22681 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22682 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22683 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22685 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22691 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22694 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22695 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22696 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22697 functionality and stuff.
22700 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22701 well as numerous other things).
22704 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22707 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22710 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22713 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22716 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22717 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22720 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22723 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22724 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22727 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22730 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22733 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22736 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22739 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22740 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22743 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22746 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22749 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22752 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22756 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22759 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22762 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22765 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22766 well as autoconf support.
22770 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22771 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22773 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22782 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22786 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22796 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22811 Massimo Campostrini,
22816 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22817 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22821 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22824 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22830 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22835 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22839 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22847 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22849 Michelangelo Grigni,
22853 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22855 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
22857 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
22864 François Felix Ingrand,
22865 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
22866 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
22868 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
22879 Peter Skov Knudsen,
22880 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
22882 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
22883 Thor Kristoffersen,
22886 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
22904 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
22905 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
22912 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
22917 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
22921 John McClary Prevost,
22927 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
22932 Christian von Roques,
22935 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
22942 Philippe Schnoebelen,
22944 Randal L. Schwartz,
22958 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
22963 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
22979 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
22984 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
22985 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
22986 (550kB and counting).
22988 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
22991 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
22992 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
22996 @subsection New Features
22997 @cindex new features
23000 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23001 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23002 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23003 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23004 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23007 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23008 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23009 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23012 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23014 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23019 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23020 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23023 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23024 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23027 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23030 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23031 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23032 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23035 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23036 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23037 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23038 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23041 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23042 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23045 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23046 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23047 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23050 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23051 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23054 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23055 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23056 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23059 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23060 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23061 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23064 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23065 the @file{.emacs} file.
23068 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23069 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23072 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23073 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23076 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23077 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23080 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23081 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23084 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23085 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23088 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23091 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23092 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23095 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23096 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23099 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23100 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23103 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23106 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23107 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23110 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23114 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23118 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23119 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23122 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23128 @node September Gnus
23129 @subsubsection September Gnus
23133 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23137 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23142 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23143 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23147 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23148 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23152 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23156 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23157 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23160 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23164 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23167 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23170 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23173 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23177 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23178 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23181 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23185 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23189 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23193 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23197 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23200 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23201 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23204 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23208 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23209 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23212 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23215 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23216 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23217 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23220 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23224 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23227 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23231 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23232 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23235 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23236 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23239 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23240 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23243 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23244 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23245 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23248 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23249 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23252 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23255 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23258 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23261 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23264 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23265 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23268 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23272 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23275 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23280 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23283 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23287 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23290 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23294 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23297 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23300 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23301 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23304 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23305 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23309 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23310 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23313 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23317 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23318 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23321 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23324 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23328 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23332 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23333 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23336 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23340 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23341 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23344 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23345 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23348 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23352 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23355 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23358 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23364 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23366 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23370 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23377 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23380 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23381 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23384 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23385 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23389 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23390 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23393 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23396 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23397 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23400 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23404 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23405 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23409 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23410 Server Internals}).
23413 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23417 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23420 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23421 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23424 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23425 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23426 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23429 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23430 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23433 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23434 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23437 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23441 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23442 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23445 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23446 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23449 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23453 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23456 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23460 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23461 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23464 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23465 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23468 A new command for reading collections of documents
23469 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23470 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23473 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23477 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23478 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23481 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23482 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23483 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23486 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23487 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23491 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23495 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23499 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23504 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23508 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23512 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23513 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23516 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23522 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23524 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23529 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23530 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23531 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23534 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23535 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23536 group, which is created automatically.
23539 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23543 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23546 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23547 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23550 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23554 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23557 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23558 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23561 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23564 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23565 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23568 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23569 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23572 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23573 control over simplification.
23576 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23579 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23583 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23586 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23589 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23590 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23591 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23594 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23595 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23598 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23602 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23603 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23606 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23607 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23610 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23614 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23617 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23620 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23621 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23624 A new function for citing in Message has been
23625 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23628 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23631 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23635 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23636 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23639 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23640 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23643 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23646 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23650 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23651 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23653 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23658 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23659 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23661 If you used procmail like in
23664 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23665 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23666 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23667 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23670 this now has changed to
23674 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23678 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23679 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23682 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23683 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23686 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23687 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23690 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23691 called to position point.
23694 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23695 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23698 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23699 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23702 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23703 subtly different manner.
23706 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23707 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23708 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23711 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23719 @section The Manual
23723 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23724 either @code{texi2dvi}
23726 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23727 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23729 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23731 The following conventions have been used:
23736 This is a @samp{string}
23739 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23742 This is a @file{file}
23745 This is a @code{symbol}
23749 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23753 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23756 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23759 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23762 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23763 ever get them confused.
23767 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23768 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23769 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23770 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23771 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23772 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23773 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23779 @node On Writing Manuals
23780 @section On Writing Manuals
23782 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23783 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23784 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23785 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23786 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23787 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23790 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23791 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23792 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23795 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23796 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23801 @section Terminology
23803 @cindex terminology
23808 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23809 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23810 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23811 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23812 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23816 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23817 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23818 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23819 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23823 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23827 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23832 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23833 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23834 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23835 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23836 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23837 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23838 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23839 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23840 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23842 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23843 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23844 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23845 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23846 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23849 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23850 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23851 access the articles.
23853 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23854 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23855 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
23860 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
23861 default, way of getting news.
23865 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
23866 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
23871 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
23872 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
23876 A message that has been posted as news.
23879 @cindex mail message
23880 A message that has been mailed.
23884 A mail message or news article
23888 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
23893 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
23898 A line from the head of an article.
23902 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
23903 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
23907 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
23908 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
23909 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
23910 normal @sc{head} format.
23914 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
23915 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
23916 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
23917 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
23918 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
23919 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
23921 @item killed groups
23922 @cindex killed groups
23923 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
23924 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
23926 @item zombie groups
23927 @cindex zombie groups
23928 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
23931 @cindex active file
23932 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
23933 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23934 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23937 @cindex bogus groups
23938 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
23939 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
23940 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
23943 @cindex activating groups
23944 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
23945 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
23946 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
23950 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
23952 @item select method
23953 @cindex select method
23954 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
23957 @item virtual server
23958 @cindex virtual server
23959 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
23960 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
23961 whole is a virtual server.
23965 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
23966 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
23969 @item ephemeral groups
23970 @cindex ephemeral groups
23971 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
23972 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
23973 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
23976 @cindex solid groups
23977 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
23978 group buffer are solid groups.
23980 @item sparse articles
23981 @cindex sparse articles
23982 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
23983 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
23987 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
23988 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
23992 @cindex thread root
23993 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
23994 articles in the thread.
23998 An article that has responses.
24002 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24006 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24007 specified by RFC 1153.
24013 @node Customization
24014 @section Customization
24015 @cindex general customization
24017 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24018 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24019 for some quite common situations.
24022 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24023 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24024 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24025 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24029 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24030 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24032 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24033 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24034 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24038 @item gnus-read-active-file
24039 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24040 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24041 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24042 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24043 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24045 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24046 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24047 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24048 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24052 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24053 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24055 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24056 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24057 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24061 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24062 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24063 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24064 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24065 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24067 @item gnus-visible-headers
24068 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24069 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24070 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24071 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24073 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24075 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24076 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24077 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24080 @item gnus-use-full-window
24081 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24082 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24083 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24084 want to read them anyway.
24086 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24087 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24091 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24092 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24093 lines, which might save some time.
24097 @node Little Disk Space
24098 @subsection Little Disk Space
24101 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24102 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24106 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24107 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24108 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24109 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24112 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24113 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24114 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24115 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24118 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24119 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24120 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24121 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24122 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24128 @subsection Slow Machine
24129 @cindex slow machine
24131 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24132 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24134 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24135 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24137 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24138 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24139 summary buffer faster.
24143 @node Troubleshooting
24144 @section Troubleshooting
24145 @cindex troubleshooting
24147 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24155 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24158 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24159 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24163 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24164 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24165 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24166 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24167 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24170 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24174 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24175 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24176 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24177 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24178 something like that.
24181 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24184 @cindex reporting bugs
24186 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24188 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24189 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24190 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24191 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24193 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24194 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24195 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24196 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24199 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24200 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24201 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24202 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24203 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24204 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24206 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24207 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24208 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24212 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24213 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24216 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24217 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24218 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24219 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24220 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24221 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24222 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24223 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24224 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24225 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24226 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24227 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24228 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24229 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24234 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24235 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24236 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24237 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24238 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24239 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24240 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24241 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24242 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24243 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24244 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24245 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24246 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24247 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24248 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24249 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24250 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24251 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24253 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24254 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24256 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24257 @cindex ding mailing list
24258 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24259 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24263 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24264 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24266 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24267 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24268 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24269 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24272 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24273 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24274 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24275 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24276 and general methods of operation.
24279 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24280 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24281 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24282 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24283 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24284 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24285 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24286 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24287 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24291 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24292 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24293 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24294 @cindex utility functions
24296 @cindex internal variables
24298 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24299 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24300 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24304 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24305 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24306 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24308 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24309 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24310 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24312 @item gnus-group-real-name
24313 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24314 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24317 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24318 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24319 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24320 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24322 @item gnus-get-info
24323 @findex gnus-get-info
24324 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24326 @item gnus-group-unread
24327 @findex gnus-group-unread
24328 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24332 @findex gnus-active
24333 The active entry for @var{group}.
24335 @item gnus-set-active
24336 @findex gnus-set-active
24337 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24339 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24340 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24341 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24344 @item gnus-continuum-version
24345 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24346 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24347 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24350 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24351 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24352 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24354 @item gnus-news-group-p
24355 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24356 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24358 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24359 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24360 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24362 @item gnus-server-to-method
24363 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24364 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24366 @item gnus-server-equal
24367 @findex gnus-server-equal
24368 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24370 @item gnus-group-native-p
24371 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24372 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24374 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24375 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24376 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24378 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24379 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24380 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24382 @item group-group-find-parameter
24383 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24384 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24385 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24387 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24388 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24389 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24391 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24392 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24393 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24395 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24396 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24397 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24398 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24401 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24405 @item gnus-read-method
24406 @findex gnus-read-method
24407 Prompts the user for a select method.
24412 @node Back End Interface
24413 @subsection Back End Interface
24415 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24416 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24417 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24418 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24419 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24420 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24422 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24423 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24424 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24425 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24426 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24427 been opened, the function should fail.
24429 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24430 name. Take this example:
24434 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24435 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24438 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24439 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24441 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24442 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24443 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24445 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24446 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24447 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24449 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24450 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24451 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24452 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24453 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24454 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24457 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24458 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24459 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24460 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24463 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24464 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24465 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24466 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24467 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24468 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24469 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24470 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24471 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24472 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24474 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24475 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24476 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24477 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24478 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24479 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24480 of numbers as long as possible.
24482 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24483 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24484 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24486 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24489 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24492 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24493 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24494 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24495 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24496 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24497 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24501 @node Required Back End Functions
24502 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24506 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24508 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24509 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24510 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24511 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24513 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24514 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24515 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24516 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24518 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24519 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24520 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24521 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24522 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24523 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24524 number, do maximum fetches.
24526 Here's an example HEAD:
24529 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24530 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24531 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24532 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24533 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24534 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24535 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24537 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24538 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24539 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24543 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24544 these in the data buffer.
24546 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24550 head = error / valid-head
24551 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24552 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24553 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24554 header = <text> eol
24557 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24558 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24562 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24563 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24564 field = <text except TAB>
24567 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24571 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24573 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24574 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24576 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24577 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24578 server. In fact, it should do so.
24580 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24581 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24584 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24586 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24587 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24590 There should be no data returned.
24593 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24595 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24596 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24597 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24598 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24600 There should be no data returned.
24603 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24605 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24606 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24607 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24608 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24610 There should be no data returned.
24613 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24615 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24617 There should be no data returned.
24620 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24622 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24623 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24624 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24625 it would be nice if that were possible.
24627 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24628 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24629 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24630 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24631 into its article buffer.
24633 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24634 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24635 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24636 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24637 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24638 on successful article retrieval.
24641 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24643 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24644 making @var{group} the current group.
24646 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24649 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24652 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24655 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24656 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24657 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24658 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24659 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24660 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24661 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24662 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24663 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24667 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24668 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24669 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24673 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24675 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24676 a no-op on most back ends.
24678 There should be no data returned.
24681 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24683 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24686 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24689 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24690 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24693 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24694 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24695 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24696 and the highest as 0.
24699 active-file = *active-line
24700 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24702 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24705 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24706 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24707 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24710 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24712 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24713 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24714 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24715 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24716 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24717 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24719 There should be no result data from this function.
24724 @node Optional Back End Functions
24725 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24729 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24731 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24732 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24733 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24735 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24736 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24737 former is in the same format as the data from
24738 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24739 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24742 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24746 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24748 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24749 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24750 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24751 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24752 should return a non-nil value.
24754 There should be no result data from this function.
24757 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24759 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24760 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24761 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24762 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24763 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24764 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24765 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24766 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24768 There should be no result data from this function.
24771 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24773 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24774 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24775 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24776 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24777 propagate the mark information to the server.
24779 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24782 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24785 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
24786 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
24787 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
24788 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
24789 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24790 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24791 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24792 possible, not limit itself to these.
24794 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24795 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24796 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24797 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24799 An example action list:
24802 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24803 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24804 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24807 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24808 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24810 There should be no result data from this function.
24812 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24814 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24815 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24816 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24817 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24818 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24820 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24821 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24822 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24825 There should be no result data from this function.
24828 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24830 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24831 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24832 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24833 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24834 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24835 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24836 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24838 There should be no result data from this function.
24841 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24843 The result data from this function should be a description of
24847 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24849 description = <text>
24852 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24854 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24855 groups available on the server.
24858 description-buffer = *description-line
24862 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
24864 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
24865 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
24866 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
24867 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
24868 in the active buffer format.
24870 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
24871 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
24872 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
24873 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
24874 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
24875 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
24876 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
24879 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24881 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
24883 There should be no return data.
24886 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
24888 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
24889 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
24890 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
24891 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
24892 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
24895 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
24898 There should be no result data returned.
24901 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
24904 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
24905 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
24907 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
24908 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
24909 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
24910 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
24911 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
24912 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
24914 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
24915 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
24918 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24919 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24921 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
24922 article for that group.
24924 There should be no data returned.
24927 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
24929 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
24930 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
24931 this function in short order.
24933 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24934 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24936 There should be no data returned.
24939 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
24941 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
24942 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
24944 There should be no data returned.
24947 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
24949 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
24950 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
24951 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
24953 There should be no data returned.
24956 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
24958 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
24959 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
24961 There should be no data returned.
24966 @node Error Messaging
24967 @subsubsection Error Messaging
24969 @findex nnheader-report
24970 @findex nnheader-get-report
24971 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
24972 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
24973 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
24974 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
24975 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
24976 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
24979 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
24981 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
24984 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
24985 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
24986 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
24987 takes one argument---the server symbol.
24989 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
24990 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
24991 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
24994 @node Writing New Back Ends
24995 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
24997 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
24998 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
24999 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25000 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25001 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25004 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25005 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25006 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25008 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25009 package called @code{nnoo}.
25011 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25012 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25018 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25019 parameters. For instance:
25022 (nnoo-declare nndir
25026 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25027 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25030 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25031 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25032 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25034 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25035 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25036 a function in those back ends.
25039 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25040 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25041 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25044 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25045 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25046 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25048 @item nnoo-define-basics
25049 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25053 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25057 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25058 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25059 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25061 @item nnoo-map-functions
25062 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25063 functions from the parent back ends.
25066 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25067 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25068 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25071 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25072 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25073 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25074 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25077 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25078 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25079 haven't already been defined.
25085 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25089 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25090 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25091 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25096 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25099 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25100 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25104 (require 'nnheader)
25108 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25110 (nnoo-declare nndir
25113 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25114 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25115 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25117 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25118 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25121 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25123 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25124 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25125 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25127 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25128 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25130 ;;; Interface functions.
25132 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25134 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25135 (setq nndir-directory
25136 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25138 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25139 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25140 (push `(nndir-current-group
25141 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25142 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25144 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25145 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25147 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25149 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25150 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25151 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25152 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25153 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25157 nnmh-status-message
25159 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25165 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25166 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25168 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25169 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25170 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25171 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25172 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25174 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25175 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25180 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25183 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25185 The abilities can be:
25189 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25191 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25193 This back end supports both mail and news.
25195 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25198 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25199 articles and groups.
25201 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25202 true for almost all back ends.
25203 @item prompt-address
25204 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25205 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25206 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25210 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25211 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25213 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25214 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25215 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25216 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25219 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25220 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25221 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25224 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25225 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25228 This function takes four parameters.
25232 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25235 @item exit-function
25236 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25238 @item temp-directory
25239 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25242 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25243 performed for one group only.
25246 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25247 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25248 find the article number assigned to this article.
25250 The function also uses the following variables:
25251 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25252 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25253 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25254 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25258 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25259 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25263 @node Score File Syntax
25264 @subsection Score File Syntax
25266 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25267 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25268 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25270 Here's a typical score file:
25274 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25281 BNF definition of a score file:
25284 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25285 element = rule / atom
25286 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25287 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25288 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25289 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25291 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25292 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25293 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25294 date-header = "date"
25295 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25296 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25297 score = "nil" / <integer>
25298 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25299 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25300 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25301 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25302 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25303 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25304 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25305 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25306 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25307 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25308 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25309 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25310 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25311 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25312 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25313 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25314 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25315 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25316 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25317 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25318 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25319 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25320 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25321 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25322 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25323 eval = "eval" space <form>
25324 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25327 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25330 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25331 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25332 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25333 one looong line, then that's ok.
25335 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25336 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25340 @subsection Headers
25342 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25343 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25344 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25345 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25347 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25348 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25349 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25350 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25351 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25352 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25353 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25355 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25356 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25357 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25358 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25359 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25361 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25362 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25368 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25369 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25371 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25372 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25373 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25374 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25376 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25380 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25383 is transformed into
25386 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25389 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25390 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25393 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25396 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25397 is slightly tricky:
25400 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25406 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25409 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25415 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25422 and is equal to the previous range.
25424 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25425 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25426 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25430 range = simple-range / normal-range
25431 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25432 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25433 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25434 number *[ " " contents ]
25437 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25438 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25439 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25440 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25441 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25446 @subsection Group Info
25448 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25449 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25450 describes the group.
25452 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25453 second is a more complex one:
25456 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25458 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25459 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25461 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25464 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25465 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25466 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25467 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25468 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25469 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25470 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25471 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25472 this section is about.
25474 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25475 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25476 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25478 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25481 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25482 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25483 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25484 group = quote <string> quote
25485 ralevel = rank / level
25486 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25487 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25488 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25490 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25491 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25492 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25493 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25496 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25497 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25500 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25501 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25504 @item gnus-info-group
25505 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25506 @findex gnus-info-group
25507 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25508 Get/set the group name.
25510 @item gnus-info-rank
25511 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25512 @findex gnus-info-rank
25513 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25514 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25516 @item gnus-info-level
25517 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25518 @findex gnus-info-level
25519 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25520 Get/set the group level.
25522 @item gnus-info-score
25523 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25524 @findex gnus-info-score
25525 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25526 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25528 @item gnus-info-read
25529 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25530 @findex gnus-info-read
25531 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25532 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25534 @item gnus-info-marks
25535 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25536 @findex gnus-info-marks
25537 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25538 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25540 @item gnus-info-method
25541 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25542 @findex gnus-info-method
25543 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25544 Get/set the group select method.
25546 @item gnus-info-params
25547 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25548 @findex gnus-info-params
25549 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25550 Get/set the group parameters.
25553 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25554 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25556 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25557 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25558 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25559 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25562 @node Extended Interactive
25563 @subsection Extended Interactive
25564 @cindex interactive
25565 @findex gnus-interactive
25567 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25568 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25569 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25572 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25573 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25578 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25579 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25580 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25581 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25582 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25583 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25584 @code{interactive}.
25586 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25591 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25592 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25596 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25597 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25598 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25601 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25605 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25609 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25615 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25616 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25620 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25621 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25622 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25624 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25625 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25626 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25627 Gnus, that's very useful.
25629 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25630 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25631 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25632 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25633 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25634 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25635 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25636 following function:
25639 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25643 (,function ,@@args))
25647 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25648 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25649 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25652 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25653 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25654 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25656 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25657 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25658 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25661 @node Various File Formats
25662 @subsection Various File Formats
25665 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25666 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25670 @node Active File Format
25671 @subsubsection Active File Format
25673 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25674 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25677 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25680 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25681 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25682 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25683 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25684 no.general 1000 900 y
25687 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25690 active = *group-line
25691 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25692 group = <non-white-space string>
25694 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25695 low-number = <positive integer>
25696 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25699 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25700 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25703 @node Newsgroups File Format
25704 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25706 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25707 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25708 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25711 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25712 Here's the definition:
25716 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25717 group = <non-white-space string>
25719 description = <string>
25724 @node Emacs for Heathens
25725 @section Emacs for Heathens
25727 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25728 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25729 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25730 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25731 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25732 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25733 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25737 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25738 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25743 @subsection Keystrokes
25747 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25750 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25753 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25754 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25755 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25756 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25757 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25758 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25760 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25761 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25762 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25763 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25764 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25765 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25766 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25768 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25769 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25770 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25771 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25772 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25773 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25774 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25776 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25777 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25778 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25779 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25780 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25786 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25788 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25789 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25790 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25791 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25793 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25794 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25795 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25796 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25797 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25798 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25799 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25802 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25803 write the following:
25806 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25809 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25810 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25811 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25814 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
25815 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25816 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25817 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25818 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25820 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25821 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25822 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25826 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25830 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25833 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25834 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25837 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25840 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25841 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25844 @include gnus-faq.texi
25864 @c Local Variables:
25866 @c coding: iso-8859-1
25868 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
25869 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
25870 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
25871 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
25872 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref