4 @settitle T-gnus 6.17 Manual
9 @documentencoding ISO-8859-1
12 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
13 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
16 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
17 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
18 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
19 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
20 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
21 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
22 License'' in the Emacs manual.
24 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
25 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
26 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
28 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
29 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
30 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
31 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
37 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
38 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
39 \usepackage{pagestyle}
42 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
44 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
46 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks,colorlinks=true]{hyperref}
54 % Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
55 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{T-gnus v6.17}
56 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
57 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
59 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
61 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
62 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
63 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
67 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
68 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
70 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
71 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
73 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
74 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
75 \newcommand{\gnusasis}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
76 \newcommand{\gnusurl}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
77 \newcommand{\gnuscommand}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
78 \newcommand{\gnusenv}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
79 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
80 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
81 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
82 \newcommand{\gnuskey}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
83 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
84 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
85 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
86 \newcommand{\gnusr}[1]{\textrm{#1}}
87 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
88 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
89 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
90 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
91 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
92 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
93 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
94 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
95 \newcommand{\gnusacronym}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
96 \newcommand{\gnusemail}[1]{\textit{#1}}
98 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
99 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
100 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
101 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
102 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
103 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
104 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
105 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
106 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
107 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
108 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
109 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
110 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
112 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
113 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
114 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
117 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
119 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
123 \newdimen{\gnusdimen}
126 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
128 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
130 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
131 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
132 \thispagestyle{empty}
134 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
135 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
136 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
141 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
143 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
150 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
151 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
154 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
155 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
158 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
159 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
162 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
163 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
166 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
168 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
169 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
173 \newenvironment{codelist}%
178 \newenvironment{asislist}%
183 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
189 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
194 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
199 \newenvironment{samplist}%
204 \newenvironment{varlist}%
209 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
214 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
215 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
216 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
218 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
223 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
227 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
236 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
238 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
243 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
248 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
252 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
260 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
262 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
272 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
276 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
284 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
286 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
291 \pagenumbering{roman}
292 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
303 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
304 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
306 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
308 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
311 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
314 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
321 \thispagestyle{empty}
335 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
340 @setchapternewpage odd
345 @title T-gnus 6.17 Manual
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 @top The gnus Newsreader
359 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using T-gnus. The news
360 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
361 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
364 T-gnus provides @acronym{MIME} features based on @acronym{SEMI} API. So
365 T-gnus supports your right to read strange messages including big images
366 or other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
367 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
368 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities. Oh,
369 if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
371 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
372 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.17.
383 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
384 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
386 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
387 being accused of plagiarism:
389 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
390 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
391 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
392 can even read news with it!
394 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
395 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
396 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
397 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
398 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
404 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
405 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
406 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
407 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
408 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
409 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
410 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
411 * Various:: General purpose settings.
412 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
413 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
414 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
415 * Key Index:: Key Index.
417 Other related manuals
419 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
420 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
421 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
422 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
423 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
426 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
430 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
431 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
432 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
433 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
434 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
435 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
438 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
439 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
440 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
444 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
445 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
446 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
450 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
451 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
452 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
453 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
454 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
455 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
456 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
457 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
458 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
459 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
460 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
461 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
462 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
463 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
464 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
465 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
466 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
470 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
471 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
472 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
476 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
477 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
478 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
479 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
480 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
484 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
485 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
486 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
487 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
488 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
492 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
493 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
494 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
495 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
496 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
497 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
498 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
499 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
500 * Threading:: How threads are made.
501 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
502 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
503 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
504 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
505 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
506 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
507 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
508 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
509 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
510 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
511 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
512 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
513 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
514 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
515 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
516 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
517 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
518 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
519 or reselecting the current group.
520 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
521 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
522 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
523 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
525 Summary Buffer Format
527 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
528 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
529 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
530 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
534 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
535 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
537 Reply, Followup and Post
539 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
540 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
541 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
542 * Canceling and Superseding::
546 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
547 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
548 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
549 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
550 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
551 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
555 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
556 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
558 Customizing Threading
560 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
561 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
562 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
563 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
567 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
568 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
569 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
570 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
571 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
572 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
576 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
577 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
578 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
582 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
583 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
584 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
585 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
586 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
587 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
588 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
589 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
590 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
591 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
592 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
594 Alternative Approaches
596 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
597 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
599 Various Summary Stuff
601 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
602 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
603 * Summary Generation Commands::
604 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
608 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
609 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
610 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
611 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
612 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
616 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
617 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
618 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
619 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
620 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
621 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
622 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
623 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
624 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
628 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
629 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
630 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
631 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
632 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
633 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
634 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
635 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
636 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
640 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
641 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
642 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
643 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
644 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
645 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
646 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
650 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
651 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
655 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
656 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
657 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
658 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
662 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
663 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
664 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
665 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
666 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
667 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
668 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
669 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
670 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
671 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
672 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
673 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
674 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
678 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
679 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
680 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
682 Choosing a Mail Back End
684 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
685 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
686 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
687 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
688 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
689 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
690 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
695 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
696 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
697 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
698 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
699 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
700 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
704 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
705 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
706 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
707 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
708 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
709 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
713 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
714 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
715 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
716 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
717 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
721 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
725 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
726 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
727 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
731 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
732 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
736 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
737 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
738 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
742 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
743 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
744 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
746 The Gnus Diary Library
748 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
749 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
750 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
751 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
755 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
756 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
757 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
758 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
759 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
760 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
761 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
762 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
763 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
764 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
765 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
766 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
767 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
768 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
772 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
773 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
774 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
778 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
779 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
780 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
784 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
785 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
786 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
787 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
788 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
789 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
790 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
791 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
792 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
793 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
794 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
795 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
796 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
797 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
798 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
799 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
803 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
804 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
805 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
809 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
810 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
811 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
812 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
813 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
814 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
815 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
816 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
817 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
818 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
819 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
820 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
821 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
822 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
823 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
824 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
825 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
826 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
827 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
828 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
832 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
833 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
834 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
835 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
836 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
837 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
838 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
839 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
843 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
844 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
845 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
846 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
847 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
851 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
852 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
853 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
854 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
856 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
858 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
860 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
861 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
862 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
863 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
864 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
866 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
867 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
869 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
871 * SpamAssassin back end::
872 * ifile spam filtering::
873 * spam-stat spam filtering::
875 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
877 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
879 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
880 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
881 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
885 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
886 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
887 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
888 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
889 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
890 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
891 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
892 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
893 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
897 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
898 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
899 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
900 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
901 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
902 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
903 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
904 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
905 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
909 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
910 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
911 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
912 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
913 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
914 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
915 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
919 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
920 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
921 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
922 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
926 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
927 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
928 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
929 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
930 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
931 * Group Info:: The group info format.
932 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
933 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
934 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
938 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
939 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
940 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
941 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
942 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
943 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
947 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
948 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
952 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
953 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
959 @chapter Starting gnus
964 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
965 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
968 @findex gnus-other-frame
969 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
970 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
971 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
973 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
974 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
975 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
977 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
978 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
981 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
982 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
983 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
984 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
985 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
986 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
987 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
988 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
989 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
990 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
994 @node Finding the News
995 @section Finding the News
998 @vindex gnus-select-method
1000 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
1001 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1002 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1003 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1006 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1007 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1010 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1013 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1016 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1019 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1020 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1021 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1022 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1024 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1026 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1027 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1028 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1029 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1030 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1031 If that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1032 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1034 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1035 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1036 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1037 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1039 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1040 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1041 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1042 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1043 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1044 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1045 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1046 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1047 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1050 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1052 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1053 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1054 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1055 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1056 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1057 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1059 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1061 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1062 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1063 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1064 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1065 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1066 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1069 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1070 you would typically set this variable to
1073 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1076 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1077 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1078 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1079 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1082 @node The First Time
1083 @section The First Time
1084 @cindex first time usage
1086 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), gnus will try to
1087 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1089 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1090 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1091 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1092 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1095 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1096 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1097 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1099 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1100 help you with most common problems.
1102 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1103 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1107 @node The Server is Down
1108 @section The Server is Down
1109 @cindex server errors
1111 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1112 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1113 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1115 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1116 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1117 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1118 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1119 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1120 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1121 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1123 @findex gnus-no-server
1124 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1126 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1127 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1128 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1129 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1130 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1131 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1132 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1136 @section Slave Gnusae
1139 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1140 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1141 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1142 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1144 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1145 @file{.newsrc} file.
1147 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1148 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1149 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1150 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1151 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1152 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1153 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1156 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1157 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1158 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1159 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1160 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1161 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1162 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1163 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1165 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1166 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1168 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1169 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1170 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1171 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1172 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1179 @cindex subscription
1181 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1182 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1183 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1184 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1185 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1186 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1187 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1188 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1189 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1192 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1193 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1194 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1198 @node Checking New Groups
1199 @subsection Checking New Groups
1201 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1202 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1203 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1204 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1205 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1206 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1207 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1208 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1209 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1210 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1212 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1213 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1214 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1215 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1216 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1217 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1218 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1219 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1220 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1221 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1222 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1224 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1225 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1226 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1227 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1228 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1229 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1232 @node Subscription Methods
1233 @subsection Subscription Methods
1235 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1236 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1237 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1239 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1240 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1242 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1246 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1248 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1249 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1250 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1254 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1255 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1259 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1263 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1264 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1265 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1266 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1267 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1268 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1269 up. Or something like that.
1271 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1272 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1273 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1274 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1275 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1277 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1278 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1279 Kill all new groups.
1281 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1282 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1283 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1284 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1285 topic parameter that looks like
1291 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1294 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1299 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1300 A closely related variable is
1301 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1302 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1303 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1304 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1307 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1308 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1309 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1310 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1313 @node Filtering New Groups
1314 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1316 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1317 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1318 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1321 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1324 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1325 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1326 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1327 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1328 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1329 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1330 subscribing these groups.
1331 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1332 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1334 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1335 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1336 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1337 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1338 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1339 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1340 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1341 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1343 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1344 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1345 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1346 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1347 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1348 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1349 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1350 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1351 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1352 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1355 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1356 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1359 @node Changing Servers
1360 @section Changing Servers
1361 @cindex changing servers
1363 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1364 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1365 very flaky and you want to use another.
1367 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1368 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1372 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1373 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1374 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1375 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1378 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1379 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1380 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1381 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1383 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1384 @findex gnus-change-server
1385 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1386 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1387 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1388 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1389 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1391 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1392 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1393 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1394 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1395 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1397 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1398 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1399 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1400 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1401 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1402 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1404 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1405 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1406 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1407 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1409 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1410 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1411 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1412 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1413 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1414 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1415 cache for all groups).
1419 @section Startup Files
1420 @cindex startup files
1425 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1426 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1427 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1430 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1431 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1432 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1433 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1434 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1435 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1436 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1438 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1439 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1440 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1441 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1442 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1443 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1445 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1446 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1447 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1448 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1449 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1450 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1451 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1452 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1453 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1454 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1455 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1458 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1459 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1460 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1461 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1462 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1463 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1464 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1465 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1466 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1467 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1468 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1469 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1471 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1472 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1473 @vindex version-control
1474 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1475 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1476 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1477 If you want version control for this file, set
1478 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1479 @code{version-control} variable.
1481 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1482 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1483 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1484 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1485 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1486 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1487 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1488 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1489 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1490 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1493 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1494 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1496 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1497 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1500 @vindex gnus-init-file
1501 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1502 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1503 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1504 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1505 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1506 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1507 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1508 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1509 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1510 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1511 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1512 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1513 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1518 @cindex dribble file
1521 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1522 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1523 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1524 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1525 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1528 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1529 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1532 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1533 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1534 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1536 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1537 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1538 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1539 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1540 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1541 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1543 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1544 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1545 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1548 @node The Active File
1549 @section The Active File
1551 @cindex ignored groups
1553 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1554 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1555 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1557 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1558 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1559 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1560 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1561 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1562 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1563 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1566 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1567 @c if you set it to anything else.
1569 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1571 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1572 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1573 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1575 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1576 you actually subscribe to.
1578 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1579 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1580 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1581 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1583 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1584 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1585 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1586 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1587 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1588 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1590 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1591 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1592 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1595 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1596 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1597 @acronym{NNTP} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1598 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1599 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1600 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1602 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1603 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1605 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1606 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1608 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1609 secondary select methods.
1612 @node Startup Variables
1613 @section Startup Variables
1617 @item gnus-load-hook
1618 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1619 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1620 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1621 times you start gnus.
1623 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1624 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1625 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1627 @item gnus-startup-hook
1628 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1629 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1631 @item gnus-started-hook
1632 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1633 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1636 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1637 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1638 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1639 generating the group buffer.
1641 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1642 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1643 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1644 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1645 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1646 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1647 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1648 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1650 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1651 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1652 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1653 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1654 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1655 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1657 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1658 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1659 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1661 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1662 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1663 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1665 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1666 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1667 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1668 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1674 @chapter Group Buffer
1675 @cindex group buffer
1677 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1679 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1680 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1681 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1682 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1683 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1684 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1685 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1686 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1687 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1688 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1689 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1690 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1691 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1692 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1693 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1694 @c human rights at 9...
1697 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1698 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1699 long as gnus is active.
1703 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1704 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1705 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1706 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1707 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1708 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1709 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1710 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1716 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1717 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1718 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1719 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1720 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1721 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1722 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1723 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1724 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1725 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1726 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1727 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1728 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1729 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1730 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1731 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1732 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1736 @node Group Buffer Format
1737 @section Group Buffer Format
1740 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1741 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1742 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1746 @node Group Line Specification
1747 @subsection Group Line Specification
1748 @cindex group buffer format
1750 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1751 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1753 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1756 25: news.announce.newusers
1757 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1762 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1763 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1764 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1765 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1767 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1768 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1769 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1770 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1771 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1772 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1774 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1776 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1777 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1778 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1779 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1780 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1782 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1783 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1784 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1786 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1791 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1794 Whether the group is subscribed.
1797 Level of subscribedness.
1800 Number of unread articles.
1803 Number of dormant articles.
1806 Number of ticked articles.
1809 Number of read articles.
1812 Number of unseen articles.
1815 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1816 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1818 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1819 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1820 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1821 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1822 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1823 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1824 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1825 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1828 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1831 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1840 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1841 comment element in the group parameters.
1844 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1845 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1846 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1850 @samp{m} if moderated.
1853 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1859 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1865 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1869 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1872 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1873 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1874 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1875 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1876 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1879 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1881 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1885 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1888 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1892 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1893 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1894 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1895 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1898 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1899 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1900 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1901 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1902 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1903 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1908 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1909 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1910 group, or a bogus native group.
1913 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1914 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1915 @cindex group mode line
1917 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1918 The mode line can be changed by setting
1919 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1920 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1924 The native news server.
1926 The native select method.
1930 @node Group Highlighting
1931 @subsection Group Highlighting
1932 @cindex highlighting
1933 @cindex group highlighting
1935 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1936 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1937 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1938 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1939 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1941 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1945 (cond (window-system
1946 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1947 (defface my-group-face-1
1948 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1949 (defface my-group-face-2
1950 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1951 "Second group face")
1952 (defface my-group-face-3
1953 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1954 (defface my-group-face-4
1955 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1956 (defface my-group-face-5
1957 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1959 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1960 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1961 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1962 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1963 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1964 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1967 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1969 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1976 The number of unread articles in the group.
1980 Whether the group is a mail group.
1982 The level of the group.
1984 The score of the group.
1986 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1988 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1989 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1991 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1992 topic being inserted.
1995 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1996 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1997 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1999 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2000 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2001 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2002 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2003 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2006 @node Group Maneuvering
2007 @section Group Maneuvering
2008 @cindex group movement
2010 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2011 expected, hopefully.
2017 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2018 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2019 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2025 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2026 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2027 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2031 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2032 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2036 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2037 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2042 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2043 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2047 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2048 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2049 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2052 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2058 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2059 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2060 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2065 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2066 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2067 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2071 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2072 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2073 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2076 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2077 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2078 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2079 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2083 @node Selecting a Group
2084 @section Selecting a Group
2085 @cindex group selection
2090 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2091 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2092 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2093 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2094 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2095 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2096 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2097 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2098 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2099 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2101 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2102 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2103 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2105 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2106 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2111 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2112 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2113 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2114 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2115 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2119 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2120 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2121 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2122 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2123 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2124 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2125 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2126 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2127 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2128 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2131 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2132 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2133 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2134 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2135 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2138 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2139 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2140 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2141 doing any processing of its contents
2142 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2143 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2144 manner will have no permanent effects.
2148 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2149 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2150 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2151 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2152 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2153 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2154 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2155 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2156 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2157 most recently will be fetched.
2159 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2160 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2161 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2164 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2165 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2166 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2167 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2168 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2169 Which article this is is controlled by the
2170 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2176 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2179 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2182 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2184 @item unseen-or-unread
2185 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2186 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2190 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2194 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2195 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2197 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2198 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2199 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2200 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2204 @node Subscription Commands
2205 @section Subscription Commands
2206 @cindex subscription
2214 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2215 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2216 Toggle subscription to the current group
2217 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2223 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2224 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2225 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2226 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2232 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2233 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2234 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2240 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2241 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2244 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2245 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2246 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2247 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2248 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2254 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2255 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2259 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2260 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2263 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2264 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2265 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2266 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2267 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2268 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2269 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2270 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2271 @file{.newsrc} file.
2275 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2285 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2286 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2287 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2288 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2289 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2290 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2295 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2296 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2297 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2301 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2302 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2303 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2305 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2306 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2307 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2308 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2309 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2310 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2317 @section Group Levels
2321 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2322 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2323 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2324 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2325 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2327 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2333 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2334 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2335 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2336 prompted for a level.
2339 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2340 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2341 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2342 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2343 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2344 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2345 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2346 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2347 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2348 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2349 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2350 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2351 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2352 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2353 reasons of efficiency.
2355 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2356 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2358 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2359 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2360 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2361 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2362 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2363 groups are hidden, in a way.
2365 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2366 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2367 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2368 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2369 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2370 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2372 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2373 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2374 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2375 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2376 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2377 list of killed groups.)
2379 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2380 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2381 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2383 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2384 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2385 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2386 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2387 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2388 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2389 relevant valid ranges.
2391 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2392 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2393 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2394 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2395 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2396 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2399 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2400 one with the best level.
2402 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2403 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2404 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2407 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2408 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2409 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2410 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2413 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2414 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2415 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2416 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2418 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2419 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2420 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2421 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2422 to 5. The default is 6.
2426 @section Group Score
2431 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2432 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2433 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2436 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2437 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2438 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2439 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2440 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2441 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2442 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2443 least significant part.))
2445 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2446 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2447 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2448 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2449 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2450 action after each summary exit, you can add
2451 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2452 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2453 slow things down somewhat.
2456 @node Marking Groups
2457 @section Marking Groups
2458 @cindex marking groups
2460 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2461 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2462 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2463 bidding on those groups.
2465 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2466 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2467 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2475 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2476 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2482 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2483 Remove the mark from the current group
2484 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2489 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2494 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2499 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2504 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2505 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2508 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2510 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2511 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2512 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2513 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2514 the command to be executed.
2517 @node Foreign Groups
2518 @section Foreign Groups
2519 @cindex foreign groups
2521 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2522 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2523 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2524 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2531 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2532 @cindex making groups
2533 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2534 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2535 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2539 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2540 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2541 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2545 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2546 @cindex renaming groups
2547 Rename the current group to something else
2548 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2549 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2555 @findex gnus-group-customize
2556 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2560 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2561 @cindex renaming groups
2562 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2563 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2567 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2568 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2569 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2573 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2574 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2575 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2579 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2581 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2582 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2587 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2588 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2592 @cindex (ding) archive
2593 @cindex archive group
2594 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2595 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2596 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2597 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2598 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2599 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2600 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2604 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2606 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2607 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2608 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2609 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2613 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2615 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2616 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2617 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2621 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2622 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2624 Make a group based on some file or other
2625 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2626 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2627 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2628 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2629 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2630 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2631 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2632 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2633 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2637 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2638 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2639 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2640 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2644 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2648 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2649 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2650 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2651 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2652 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2653 @xref{Web Searches}.
2655 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2656 to a particular group by using a match string like
2657 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2661 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2662 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2663 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2667 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2668 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2669 This function will delete the current group
2670 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2671 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2672 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2673 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2674 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2678 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2679 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2680 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2684 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2685 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2686 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2689 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2692 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2693 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2694 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2695 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2696 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2697 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2701 @node Group Parameters
2702 @section Group Parameters
2703 @cindex group parameters
2705 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2706 Here's an example group parameter list:
2709 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2713 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2714 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2715 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2716 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2718 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2719 is an alist of regexps and values.
2721 The following group parameters can be used:
2726 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2729 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2732 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2733 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2734 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2735 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2736 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2738 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2739 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2740 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2741 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2742 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2743 list address instead.
2745 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2749 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2752 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2755 It is totally ignored
2756 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2757 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2759 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2760 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2761 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2762 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2763 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2765 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2766 @cindex mail list groups
2767 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2768 entering summary buffer.
2770 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2775 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2776 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2777 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2778 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2779 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2780 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2781 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2782 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2785 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2786 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2789 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2790 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2794 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2795 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2796 of whether it has any unread articles.
2798 @item broken-reply-to
2799 @cindex broken-reply-to
2800 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2801 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2802 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2803 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2804 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2805 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2809 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2810 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2814 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2815 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2816 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2821 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2822 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2823 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2824 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2825 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2826 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2827 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2829 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2830 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2831 doesn't accept articles.
2835 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2836 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2837 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2839 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2842 @cindex total-expire
2843 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2844 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2845 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2846 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2849 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2853 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2854 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2855 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2856 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2857 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2858 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2859 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2862 @cindex expiry-target
2863 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2864 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2867 @cindex score file group parameter
2868 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2869 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2870 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2873 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2874 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2875 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2876 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2879 @cindex admin-address
2880 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2881 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2882 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2883 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2887 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2888 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2892 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2895 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2896 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2899 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2903 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2905 Here are some examples:
2909 Display only unread articles.
2912 Display everything except expirable articles.
2914 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2915 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2919 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2920 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2921 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2922 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2923 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2927 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2928 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2929 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2933 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2934 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2935 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2939 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2940 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2941 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2943 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2945 @item ignored-charsets
2946 @cindex ignored-charset
2947 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2948 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2949 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2951 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2954 @cindex posting-style
2955 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2956 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2957 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2958 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2959 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2961 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2962 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2963 like this in the group parameters:
2968 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2969 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2974 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2975 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2979 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2980 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2981 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2982 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2983 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2987 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2988 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2989 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2990 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2992 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
2993 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2994 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2995 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2998 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
2999 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3003 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3004 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3005 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3006 like the following is generated:
3009 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3010 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3014 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3015 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3017 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3018 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3020 @item (agent parameters)
3021 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3022 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3023 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3024 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3025 minimize the configuration effort.
3027 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3028 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3029 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3030 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3031 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3032 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3033 @code{eval}ed there.
3035 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3036 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3037 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3038 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3039 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3040 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3041 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3042 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3045 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3048 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3049 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3050 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3053 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3056 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3057 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3058 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3059 into the group parameters for the group.
3061 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3062 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3063 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3064 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3067 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3068 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3069 following is added to a group parameter
3072 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3073 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3076 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3081 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3082 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3083 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3084 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3085 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3087 @vindex gnus-parameters
3088 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3089 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3093 (setq gnus-parameters
3095 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3096 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3097 (gnus-summary-line-format
3098 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3102 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3106 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3110 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3113 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3114 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3116 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3117 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3118 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3119 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3120 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3121 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3122 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3123 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3124 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3125 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3126 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3127 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3129 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3130 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3131 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3132 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3133 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3134 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3135 weekly news RSS feed
3136 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3142 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3143 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3144 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3145 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3146 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3148 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3149 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3150 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3151 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3152 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3153 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3157 @node Listing Groups
3158 @section Listing Groups
3159 @cindex group listing
3161 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3169 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3170 List all groups that have unread articles
3171 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3172 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3173 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3174 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3181 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3182 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3183 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3184 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3185 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3186 unsubscribed groups).
3190 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3191 List all unread groups on a specific level
3192 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3193 with no unread articles.
3197 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3198 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3199 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3200 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3205 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3206 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3210 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3211 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3212 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3216 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3217 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3221 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3222 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3223 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3224 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3225 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3226 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3227 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3228 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3232 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3233 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3234 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3238 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3239 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3240 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3244 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3245 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3249 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3250 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3254 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3255 List groups limited within the current selection
3256 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3260 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3261 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3265 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3266 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3270 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3271 @cindex visible group parameter
3272 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3273 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3274 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3275 get the same effect.
3277 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3278 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3279 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3280 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3281 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3284 @node Sorting Groups
3285 @section Sorting Groups
3286 @cindex sorting groups
3288 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3289 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3290 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3291 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3292 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3293 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3298 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3299 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3300 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3302 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3303 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3304 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3306 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3307 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3308 Sort by group level.
3310 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3311 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3312 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3314 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3315 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3316 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3317 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3319 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3320 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3321 Sort by number of unread articles.
3323 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3324 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3325 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3327 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3328 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3329 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3334 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3335 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3339 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3340 some sorting criteria:
3344 @kindex G S a (Group)
3345 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3346 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3347 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3350 @kindex G S u (Group)
3351 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3352 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3353 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3356 @kindex G S l (Group)
3357 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3358 Sort the group buffer by group level
3359 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3362 @kindex G S v (Group)
3363 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3364 Sort the group buffer by group score
3365 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3368 @kindex G S r (Group)
3369 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3370 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3371 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3374 @kindex G S m (Group)
3375 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3376 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3377 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3380 @kindex G S n (Group)
3381 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3382 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3383 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3387 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3388 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3390 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3391 commands will sort in reverse order.
3393 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3397 @kindex G P a (Group)
3398 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3399 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3400 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3403 @kindex G P u (Group)
3404 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3405 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3406 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3409 @kindex G P l (Group)
3410 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3411 Sort the groups by group level
3412 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3415 @kindex G P v (Group)
3416 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3417 Sort the groups by group score
3418 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3421 @kindex G P r (Group)
3422 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3423 Sort the groups by group rank
3424 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3427 @kindex G P m (Group)
3428 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3429 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3430 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3433 @kindex G P n (Group)
3434 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3435 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3436 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3439 @kindex G P s (Group)
3440 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3441 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3445 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3449 @node Group Maintenance
3450 @section Group Maintenance
3451 @cindex bogus groups
3456 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3457 Find bogus groups and delete them
3458 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3462 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3463 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3464 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3465 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3466 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3470 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3471 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3472 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3473 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3474 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3475 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3478 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3479 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3480 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3481 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3486 @node Browse Foreign Server
3487 @section Browse Foreign Server
3488 @cindex foreign servers
3489 @cindex browsing servers
3494 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3495 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3496 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3497 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3500 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3501 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3502 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3503 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3505 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3510 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3511 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3515 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3516 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3519 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3520 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3521 Enter the current group and display the first article
3522 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3525 @kindex RET (Browse)
3526 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3527 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3531 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3532 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3533 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3539 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3540 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3544 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3545 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3549 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3550 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3551 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3556 @section Exiting gnus
3557 @cindex exiting gnus
3559 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3564 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3565 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3566 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3567 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3571 @findex gnus-group-exit
3572 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3573 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3577 @findex gnus-group-quit
3578 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3579 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3582 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3583 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3584 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3585 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3586 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3587 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3593 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3594 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3595 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3601 @section Group Topics
3604 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3605 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3606 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3607 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3608 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3609 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3613 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3614 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3625 2: alt.religion.emacs
3628 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3630 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3631 13: comp.sources.unix
3634 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3636 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3637 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3638 is a toggling command.)
3640 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3641 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3642 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3643 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3646 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3647 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3648 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3651 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3655 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3656 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3657 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3658 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3659 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3663 @node Topic Commands
3664 @subsection Topic Commands
3665 @cindex topic commands
3667 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3668 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3669 definitions slightly.
3671 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3672 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3673 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3674 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3675 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3676 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3678 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3685 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3686 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3687 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3691 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3693 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3694 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3695 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3696 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3699 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3700 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3701 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3702 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3706 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3707 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3708 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3709 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3715 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3716 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3717 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3721 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3722 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3723 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3726 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3727 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3728 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3729 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3730 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3732 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3733 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3737 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3738 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3745 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3747 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3748 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3749 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3750 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3751 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3752 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3756 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3762 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3763 Move the current group to some other topic
3764 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3765 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3769 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3770 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3774 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3775 Copy the current group to some other topic
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3777 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3781 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3782 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3783 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3787 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3788 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3789 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3793 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3794 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3795 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3796 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3797 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3798 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3799 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3802 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3803 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3807 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3808 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3809 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3813 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3814 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3815 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3819 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3820 Toggle hiding empty topics
3821 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3825 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3826 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3827 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3828 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3831 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3832 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3833 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3834 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3835 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3838 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3839 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3840 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3841 expiry process (if any)
3842 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3846 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3847 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3850 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3851 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3852 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3856 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3857 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3858 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3861 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3862 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3863 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3866 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3867 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3868 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3872 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3873 @cindex group parameters
3874 @cindex topic parameters
3876 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3877 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3882 @node Topic Variables
3883 @subsection Topic Variables
3884 @cindex topic variables
3886 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3887 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3889 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3890 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3891 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3904 Number of groups in the topic.
3906 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3908 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3911 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3912 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3913 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3916 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3917 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3919 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3920 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3921 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3925 @subsection Topic Sorting
3926 @cindex topic sorting
3928 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3934 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3935 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3936 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3937 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3940 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3941 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3942 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3943 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3946 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3947 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3948 Sort the current topic by group level
3949 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3952 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3953 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3954 Sort the current topic by group score
3955 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3958 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3959 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3960 Sort the current topic by group rank
3961 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3964 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3965 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3966 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3967 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3970 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3971 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3972 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3973 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3976 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3977 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3978 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3979 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3980 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3984 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3985 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3989 @node Topic Topology
3990 @subsection Topic Topology
3991 @cindex topic topology
3994 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4001 2: alt.religion.emacs
4004 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4006 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4007 13: comp.sources.unix
4011 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4012 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4013 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4018 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4019 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4023 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4024 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4025 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4026 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4027 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4028 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4030 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4031 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4032 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4035 @node Topic Parameters
4036 @subsection Topic Parameters
4037 @cindex topic parameters
4039 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4040 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4041 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4042 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4043 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4045 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4050 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4051 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4052 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4055 @item subscribe-level
4056 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4057 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4058 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4062 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4063 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4064 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4065 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4072 2: alt.religion.emacs
4076 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4078 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4079 13: comp.sources.unix
4084 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4085 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4086 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4087 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4088 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4089 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4091 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4092 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4093 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4094 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4095 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4097 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4098 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4099 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4100 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4101 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4102 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4103 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4104 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4107 @node Misc Group Stuff
4108 @section Misc Group Stuff
4111 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4112 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4113 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4114 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4115 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4122 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4123 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4124 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4128 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4129 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4130 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4131 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4132 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4133 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4134 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4138 @findex gnus-group-mail
4139 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4140 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4141 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4142 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4146 @findex gnus-group-news
4147 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4148 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4149 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4151 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4152 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4153 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4154 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4155 for this to work though.
4159 Variables for the group buffer:
4163 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4164 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4165 is called after the group buffer has been
4168 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4169 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4170 is called after the group buffer is
4171 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4174 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4175 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4176 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4177 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4179 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4180 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4181 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4182 whether they are empty or not.
4184 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4185 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4186 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4187 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4191 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4192 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4195 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4196 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4197 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4198 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4199 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4200 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4201 default is @code{nil}.
4205 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4206 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4211 @node Scanning New Messages
4212 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4213 @cindex new messages
4214 @cindex scanning new news
4220 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4221 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4222 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4223 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4224 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4225 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4230 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4231 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4232 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4233 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4234 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4235 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4236 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4238 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4239 @cindex activating groups
4241 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4242 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4247 @findex gnus-group-restart
4248 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4249 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4250 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4254 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4255 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4257 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4258 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4262 @node Group Information
4263 @subsection Group Information
4264 @cindex group information
4265 @cindex information on groups
4272 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4273 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4276 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4277 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4278 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4279 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4280 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4281 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4282 used for fetching the file.
4284 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4285 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4289 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4290 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4292 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4293 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4296 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4297 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4298 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4302 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4303 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4304 @cindex control message
4305 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4306 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4307 group if given a prefix argument.
4309 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4310 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4311 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4312 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4314 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4315 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4316 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4320 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4322 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4323 @cindex describing groups
4324 @cindex group description
4325 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4326 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4327 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4331 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4332 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4333 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4340 @findex gnus-version
4341 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4345 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4346 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4349 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4352 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4353 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4357 @node Group Timestamp
4358 @subsection Group Timestamp
4360 @cindex group timestamps
4362 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4363 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4364 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4367 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4370 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4372 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4373 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4376 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4377 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4380 This will result in lines looking like:
4383 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4384 0: custom 19961002T012713
4387 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4388 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4392 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4393 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4396 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4397 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4401 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4402 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4403 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4404 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4406 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4412 @subsection File Commands
4413 @cindex file commands
4419 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4420 @vindex gnus-init-file
4421 @cindex reading init file
4422 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4423 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4427 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4428 @cindex saving .newsrc
4429 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4430 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4431 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4434 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4435 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4436 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4441 @node Sieve Commands
4442 @subsection Sieve Commands
4443 @cindex group sieve commands
4445 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4446 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4447 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4448 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4449 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4451 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4452 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4453 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4454 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4455 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4456 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4457 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4458 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4459 regenerate the Sieve script.
4461 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4462 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4463 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4464 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4465 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4466 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4467 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4468 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4469 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4470 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4473 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4474 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4479 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4485 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4486 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4487 @cindex generating sieve script
4488 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4489 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4493 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4494 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4495 @cindex updating sieve script
4496 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4497 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4498 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4503 @node Summary Buffer
4504 @chapter Summary Buffer
4505 @cindex summary buffer
4507 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4508 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4510 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4511 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4513 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4516 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4517 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4518 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4519 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4520 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4521 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4522 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4523 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4524 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4525 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4526 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4527 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4528 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4529 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4530 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4531 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4532 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4533 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4534 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4535 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4536 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4537 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4538 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4539 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4540 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4541 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4542 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4543 or reselecting the current group.
4544 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4545 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4546 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4547 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4551 @node Summary Buffer Format
4552 @section Summary Buffer Format
4553 @cindex summary buffer format
4557 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4558 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4559 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4565 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4566 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4567 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4568 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4571 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4572 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4573 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4574 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4575 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4576 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4577 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4578 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4579 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4580 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4581 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4582 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4583 other function instead:
4586 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4587 'mail-extract-address-components)
4590 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4591 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4592 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4593 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4596 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4597 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4599 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4600 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4601 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4602 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4603 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4605 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4606 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4607 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4608 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4609 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4610 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4612 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4614 The following format specification characters and extended format
4615 specification(s) are understood:
4621 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4622 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4624 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4625 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4626 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4628 Full @code{From} header.
4630 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4632 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4635 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4636 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4637 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4638 may be more thorough.
4640 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4643 Number of lines in the article.
4645 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4646 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4648 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4649 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4651 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4653 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4654 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4667 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4668 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4669 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4670 line-drawing glyphs.
4672 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4673 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4674 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4675 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4677 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4678 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4679 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4680 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4682 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4683 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4684 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4685 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4687 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4688 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4689 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4691 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4692 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4693 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4695 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4696 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4697 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4699 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4700 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4701 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4706 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4707 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4709 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4710 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4712 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4713 for adopted articles.
4715 One space for each thread level.
4717 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4719 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4722 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4723 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4724 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4727 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4729 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4730 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4731 default level. If the difference between
4732 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4733 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4741 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4743 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4749 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4750 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4752 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4753 article has any children.
4759 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4760 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4762 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4763 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4764 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4765 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4766 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4767 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4770 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4771 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4772 There can only be one such area.
4774 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4775 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4776 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4777 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4778 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4779 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4781 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4782 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4784 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4787 @node To From Newsgroups
4788 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4792 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4793 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4794 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4795 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4796 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4800 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4801 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4802 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4806 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4807 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4810 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4811 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4814 @findex gnus-extra-header
4815 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4816 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4817 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4820 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4824 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4825 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4826 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4827 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4828 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4829 headers are used instead.
4831 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4832 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4833 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4834 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4835 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4836 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4840 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4841 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4842 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4843 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4844 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4845 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4848 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4849 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4850 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4851 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4853 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4857 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4859 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4860 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4861 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4862 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4866 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4869 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4870 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4873 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4874 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4875 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4881 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4882 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4885 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4886 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4888 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4889 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4890 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4891 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4893 Here are the elements you can play with:
4899 Unprefixed group name.
4901 Current article number.
4903 Current article score.
4907 Number of unread articles in this group.
4909 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4912 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4913 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4914 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4915 and no unselected ones.
4917 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4918 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4920 Subject of the current article.
4922 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4924 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4926 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4928 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4930 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4932 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4936 @node Summary Highlighting
4937 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4941 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4942 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4943 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4944 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4945 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4947 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4948 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4949 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4950 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4952 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4953 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4954 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4955 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4957 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4958 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4959 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4960 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4961 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4962 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4965 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4966 ((> score default) . bold))
4968 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4969 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4973 @node Summary Maneuvering
4974 @section Summary Maneuvering
4975 @cindex summary movement
4977 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4978 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4980 None of these commands select articles.
4985 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4986 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4987 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4988 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4989 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4993 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4994 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4996 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4997 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5000 @kindex G g (Summary)
5001 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5002 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5003 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5006 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5007 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5008 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5009 to the group buffer.
5011 Variables related to summary movement:
5015 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5016 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5017 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5018 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
5019 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5020 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5021 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
5022 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5023 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5024 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5025 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5026 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5027 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5028 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5030 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5031 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5032 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5033 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5034 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5035 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5036 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5038 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5040 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5041 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5042 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5043 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5044 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5046 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5047 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5048 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5049 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5050 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5051 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5052 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5053 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5056 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5057 the given number of lines from the top.
5062 @node Choosing Articles
5063 @section Choosing Articles
5064 @cindex selecting articles
5067 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5068 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5072 @node Choosing Commands
5073 @subsection Choosing Commands
5075 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5076 and they all select and display an article.
5078 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5079 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5083 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5085 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5086 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5088 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5089 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5090 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5095 @kindex G n (Summary)
5096 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5097 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5098 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5103 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5104 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5105 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5110 @kindex G N (Summary)
5111 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5112 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5117 @kindex G P (Summary)
5118 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5119 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5122 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5124 Go to the next article with the same subject
5125 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5128 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5129 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5130 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5131 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5135 @kindex G f (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5138 Go to the first unread article
5139 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5143 @kindex G b (Summary)
5145 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5146 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5147 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5148 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5153 @kindex G l (Summary)
5154 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5155 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5158 @kindex G o (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5161 @cindex article history
5162 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5163 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5164 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5165 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5166 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5167 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5172 @kindex G j (Summary)
5173 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5174 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5175 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5180 @node Choosing Variables
5181 @subsection Choosing Variables
5183 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5186 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5187 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5188 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5189 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5190 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5191 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5193 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5194 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5195 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5196 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5197 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5200 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5201 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5202 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5203 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5204 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5205 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5206 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5207 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5208 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5209 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5210 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5211 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5212 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5213 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5218 @node Paging the Article
5219 @section Scrolling the Article
5220 @cindex article scrolling
5225 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5226 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5227 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5228 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5229 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5231 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5232 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5233 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5234 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5235 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5236 what is considered uninteresting with
5237 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5238 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5241 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5242 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5243 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5246 @kindex RET (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5248 Scroll the current article one line forward
5249 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5252 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5253 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5254 Scroll the current article one line backward
5255 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5259 @kindex A g (Summary)
5261 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5262 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5263 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5264 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5265 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5266 the way it came from the server.
5268 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5269 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5270 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5273 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5278 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5283 @kindex A < (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5285 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5286 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5291 @kindex A > (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5293 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5297 @kindex A s (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5300 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5301 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5305 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5306 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5311 @node Reply Followup and Post
5312 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5315 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5316 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5317 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5318 * Canceling and Superseding::
5322 @node Summary Mail Commands
5323 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5325 @cindex composing mail
5327 Commands for composing a mail message:
5333 @kindex S r (Summary)
5335 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5336 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5338 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5339 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5344 @kindex S R (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5346 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5347 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5348 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5349 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5352 @kindex S w (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5354 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5355 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5356 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5357 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5358 present, that's used instead.
5361 @kindex S W (Summary)
5362 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5363 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5364 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5365 the process/prefix convention.
5368 @kindex S v (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5370 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5371 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5372 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5373 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5374 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5377 @kindex S V (Summary)
5378 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5379 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5380 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5381 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5384 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5386 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5387 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5388 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5389 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5390 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5391 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5394 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5395 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5396 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5397 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5398 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5402 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5403 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5404 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5405 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5406 Forward the current article to some other person
5407 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5408 headers of the forwarded article.
5413 @kindex S m (Summary)
5414 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5415 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5416 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5417 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5418 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5423 @kindex S i (Summary)
5424 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5425 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5426 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5427 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5429 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5430 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5431 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5432 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5433 for this to work though.
5436 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5437 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5438 @cindex bouncing mail
5439 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5440 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5441 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5442 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5443 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5444 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5445 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5446 very well fail, though.
5449 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5450 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5451 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5452 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5453 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5454 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5455 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5456 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5457 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5458 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5460 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5461 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5462 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5463 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5464 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5466 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5467 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5470 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5471 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5473 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5474 if it were a new message before resending.
5477 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5478 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5479 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5480 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5481 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5484 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5485 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5486 @cindex crossposting
5487 @cindex excessive crossposting
5488 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5489 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5491 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5492 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5493 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5494 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5495 command understands the process/prefix convention
5496 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5500 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5501 Manual}, for more information.
5504 @node Summary Post Commands
5505 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5507 @cindex composing news
5509 Commands for posting a news article:
5515 @kindex S p (Summary)
5516 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5517 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5518 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5519 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5520 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5525 @kindex S f (Summary)
5526 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5527 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5528 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5532 @kindex S F (Summary)
5534 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5535 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5536 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5537 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5538 process/prefix convention.
5541 @kindex S n (Summary)
5542 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5543 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5544 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5547 @kindex S N (Summary)
5548 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5549 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5550 message through mail and include the original message
5551 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5552 the process/prefix convention.
5555 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5556 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5557 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5558 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5559 headers of the forwarded article.
5562 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5563 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5565 @cindex making digests
5566 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5567 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5568 process/prefix convention.
5571 @kindex S u (Summary)
5572 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5573 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5574 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5575 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5578 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5579 Manual}, for more information.
5582 @node Summary Message Commands
5583 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5587 @kindex S y (Summary)
5588 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5589 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5590 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5591 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5592 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5597 @node Canceling and Superseding
5598 @subsection Canceling Articles
5599 @cindex canceling articles
5600 @cindex superseding articles
5602 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5603 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5605 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5607 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5609 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5610 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5611 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5612 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5613 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5614 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5616 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5617 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5620 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5621 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5622 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5624 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5625 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5626 message, Message Manual}).
5628 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5629 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5630 your original article.
5632 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5634 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5635 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5636 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5639 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5640 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5641 have posted almost the same article twice.
5643 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5644 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5645 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5646 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5647 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5648 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5649 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5650 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5651 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5652 canceled/superseded.
5654 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5656 @node Delayed Articles
5657 @section Delayed Articles
5658 @cindex delayed sending
5659 @cindex send delayed
5661 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5662 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5663 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5664 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5667 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5670 @findex gnus-delay-article
5671 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5672 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5673 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5674 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5678 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5679 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5680 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5681 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5684 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5685 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5686 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5689 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5690 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5691 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5692 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5693 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5694 that means a time tomorrow.
5697 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5698 couple of variables:
5701 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5702 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5703 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5704 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5706 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5707 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5708 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5709 formats described above.
5711 @item gnus-delay-group
5712 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5713 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5714 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5715 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5717 @item gnus-delay-header
5718 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5719 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5720 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5721 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5724 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5725 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5726 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5727 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5728 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5730 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5731 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5732 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5733 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5734 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5735 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5736 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5739 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5740 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5742 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5743 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5744 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5745 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5746 argument is ignored.
5748 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5749 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5750 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5754 @node Marking Articles
5755 @section Marking Articles
5756 @cindex article marking
5757 @cindex article ticking
5760 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5762 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5763 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5764 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5766 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5769 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5773 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5774 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5775 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5776 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5777 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5778 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5782 @node Unread Articles
5783 @subsection Unread Articles
5785 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5790 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5791 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5793 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5794 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5795 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5796 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5797 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5798 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5799 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5802 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5803 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5805 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5806 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5807 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5808 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5812 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5813 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5815 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5820 @subsection Read Articles
5821 @cindex expirable mark
5823 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5828 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5829 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5830 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5833 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5834 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5837 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5838 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5839 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5842 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5843 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5846 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5847 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5850 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5851 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5854 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5855 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5858 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5859 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5862 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5863 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5866 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5867 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5871 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5872 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5873 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5877 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5878 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5880 One more special mark, though:
5884 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5885 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5887 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5888 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5889 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5890 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5896 @subsection Other Marks
5897 @cindex process mark
5900 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5906 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5907 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5908 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5909 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5910 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5913 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5914 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5915 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5916 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5919 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5920 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5921 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5924 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5925 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5926 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5929 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5930 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5931 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5932 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5935 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5936 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5937 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5938 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5939 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5940 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5943 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5944 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5945 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5946 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5949 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5950 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5951 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5952 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5953 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5957 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5958 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5959 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5960 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5961 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5962 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5965 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5966 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5967 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5968 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5969 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5970 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5974 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5975 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5976 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5977 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5978 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5981 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5982 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5983 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5984 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5985 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5986 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5990 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5991 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5992 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5994 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5995 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5996 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6000 @subsection Setting Marks
6001 @cindex setting marks
6003 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6008 @kindex M c (Summary)
6009 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6010 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6011 @cindex mark as unread
6012 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6013 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6019 @kindex M t (Summary)
6020 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6021 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6022 @xref{Article Caching}.
6027 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6028 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6029 Mark the current article as dormant
6030 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6034 @kindex M d (Summary)
6036 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6037 Mark the current article as read
6038 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6042 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6043 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6044 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6049 @kindex M k (Summary)
6050 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6051 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6052 and then select the next unread article
6053 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6057 @kindex M K (Summary)
6058 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6060 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6061 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6064 @kindex M C (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6066 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6067 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6070 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6071 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6072 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6073 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6076 @kindex M H (Summary)
6077 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6078 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6079 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6082 @kindex M h (Summary)
6083 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6084 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6085 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6088 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6090 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6091 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6094 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6096 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6097 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6101 @kindex M e (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6104 Mark the current article as expirable
6105 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6108 @kindex M b (Summary)
6109 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6110 Set a bookmark in the current article
6111 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6114 @kindex M B (Summary)
6115 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6116 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6117 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6120 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6122 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6123 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6126 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6128 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6129 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6132 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6133 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6134 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6135 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6136 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6139 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6140 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6141 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6142 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6143 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6144 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6145 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6146 The default is @code{t}.
6149 @node Generic Marking Commands
6150 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6152 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6153 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6154 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6155 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6156 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6159 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6160 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6163 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6164 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6165 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6166 to list in this manual.
6168 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6169 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6170 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6171 article, you could say something like:
6175 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6176 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6177 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6185 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6186 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6190 @node Setting Process Marks
6191 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6192 @cindex setting process marks
6194 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6195 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6196 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6197 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6198 commands into the cache. For more information,
6199 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6206 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6207 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6208 Mark the current article with the process mark
6209 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6210 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6214 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6215 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6216 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6217 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6220 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6222 Remove the process mark from all articles
6223 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6226 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6227 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6228 Invert the list of process marked articles
6229 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6232 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6233 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6234 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6235 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6238 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6239 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6240 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6241 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6244 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6246 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6249 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6250 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6251 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6254 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6255 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6256 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6257 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6260 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6261 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6262 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6263 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6266 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6268 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6269 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6272 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6274 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6277 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6279 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6280 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6283 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6284 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6285 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6288 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6290 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6291 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6294 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6296 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6297 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6300 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6302 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6303 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6306 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6307 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6308 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6309 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6313 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6314 set process marks based on article body contents.
6321 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6322 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6323 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6326 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6327 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6328 additional articles.
6334 @kindex / / (Summary)
6335 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6336 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6337 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6341 @kindex / a (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6343 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6344 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6348 @kindex / R (Summary)
6349 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6350 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6351 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6355 @kindex / x (Summary)
6356 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6357 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6358 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6359 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6364 @kindex / u (Summary)
6366 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6367 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6368 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6369 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6370 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6373 @kindex / m (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6375 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6376 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6379 @kindex / t (Summary)
6380 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6381 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6382 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6383 articles younger than that number of days.
6386 @kindex / n (Summary)
6387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6388 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6390 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6393 @kindex / w (Summary)
6394 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6395 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6396 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6400 @kindex / . (Summary)
6401 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6402 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6403 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6406 @kindex / v (Summary)
6407 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6408 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6409 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6412 @kindex / p (Summary)
6413 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6414 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6415 group parameter predicate
6416 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6417 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6420 @kindex / r (Summary)
6421 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6422 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6423 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6428 @kindex M S (Summary)
6429 @kindex / E (Summary)
6430 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6431 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6432 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6435 @kindex / D (Summary)
6436 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6437 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6438 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6441 @kindex / * (Summary)
6442 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6443 Include all cached articles in the limit
6444 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6447 @kindex / d (Summary)
6448 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6449 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6450 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6453 @kindex / M (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6455 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6458 @kindex / T (Summary)
6459 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6460 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6463 @kindex / c (Summary)
6464 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6465 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6466 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6469 @kindex / C (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6471 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6472 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6473 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6476 @kindex / N (Summary)
6477 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6478 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6479 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6482 @kindex / o (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6484 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6485 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6493 @cindex article threading
6495 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6496 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6497 hierarchical fashion.
6499 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6500 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6501 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6502 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6503 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6504 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6505 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6507 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6511 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6514 A tree-like article structure.
6517 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6520 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6521 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6522 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6523 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6524 called loose threads.
6526 @item thread gathering
6527 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6529 @item sparse threads
6530 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6531 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6537 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6538 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6542 @node Customizing Threading
6543 @subsection Customizing Threading
6544 @cindex customizing threading
6547 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6548 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6549 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6550 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6555 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6558 @cindex loose threads
6561 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6562 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6563 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6564 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6565 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6566 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6568 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6569 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6570 There are four possible values:
6574 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6575 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6576 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6577 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6578 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6583 @cindex adopting articles
6588 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6589 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6590 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6591 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6594 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6595 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6596 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6597 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6598 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6599 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6600 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6601 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6602 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6603 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6606 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6607 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6608 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6612 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6613 display them after one another.
6616 Don't gather loose threads.
6619 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6620 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6621 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6622 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6623 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6624 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6625 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6626 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6627 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6628 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6629 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6631 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6632 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6633 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6636 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6637 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6638 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6639 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6640 simplification is used.
6642 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6643 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6644 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6645 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6647 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6649 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6655 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6656 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6657 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6658 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6663 (mapconcat 'identity
6664 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6666 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6669 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6672 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6673 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6674 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6675 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6676 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6677 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6679 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6682 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6683 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6684 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6686 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6687 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6690 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6691 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6692 Remove excessive whitespace.
6694 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6695 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6696 Remove all whitespace.
6699 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6702 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6703 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6704 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6705 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6706 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6707 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6708 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6709 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6711 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6712 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6713 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6714 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6715 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6716 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6717 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6718 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6719 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6723 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6724 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6725 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6726 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6728 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6729 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6730 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6733 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6737 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6738 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6744 @node Filling In Threads
6745 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6748 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6749 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6750 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6751 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6752 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6753 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6754 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6755 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6756 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6757 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6758 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6759 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6762 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6763 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6764 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6766 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6767 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6768 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6771 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6772 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6773 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6774 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6775 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6776 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6777 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6778 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6779 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6780 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6781 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6782 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6783 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6784 @code{nil} by default.
6786 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6787 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6788 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6789 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6790 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6791 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6792 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6794 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6795 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6796 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6801 @node More Threading
6802 @subsubsection More Threading
6805 @item gnus-show-threads
6806 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6807 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6808 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6809 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6810 slower and more awkward.
6812 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6813 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6814 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6817 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6818 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6819 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6824 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6825 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6826 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6829 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6830 unread, but you get my drift.)
6833 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6834 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6835 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6836 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6837 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6838 threads are expunged.
6840 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6841 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6842 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6845 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6846 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6847 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6848 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6849 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6850 result in a new thread.
6852 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6853 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6854 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6857 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6858 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6859 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6860 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6861 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6862 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6863 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6864 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6865 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6866 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6867 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6872 @node Low-Level Threading
6873 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6877 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6878 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6879 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6880 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6881 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6882 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6884 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6885 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6886 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6887 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6888 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6889 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6890 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6891 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6892 meaningful. Here's one example:
6895 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6897 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6898 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6900 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6902 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6909 @node Thread Commands
6910 @subsection Thread Commands
6911 @cindex thread commands
6917 @kindex T k (Summary)
6918 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6919 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6920 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6921 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6922 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6927 @kindex T l (Summary)
6928 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6929 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6930 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6931 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6934 @kindex T i (Summary)
6935 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6936 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6937 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6940 @kindex T # (Summary)
6941 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6942 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6943 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6946 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6947 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6948 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6949 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6952 @kindex T T (Summary)
6953 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6954 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6957 @kindex T s (Summary)
6958 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6959 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6960 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6963 @kindex T h (Summary)
6964 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6965 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6968 @kindex T S (Summary)
6969 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6970 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6973 @kindex T H (Summary)
6974 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6975 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6978 @kindex T t (Summary)
6979 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6980 Re-thread the current article's thread
6981 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6982 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6985 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6986 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6987 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6988 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6992 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6993 understand the numeric prefix.
6998 @kindex T n (Summary)
7000 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7002 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7003 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7004 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7007 @kindex T p (Summary)
7009 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7011 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7012 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7013 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7016 @kindex T d (Summary)
7017 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7018 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7021 @kindex T u (Summary)
7022 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7023 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7026 @kindex T o (Summary)
7027 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7028 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7031 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7032 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7033 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7034 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7035 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7036 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7037 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7038 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7039 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7040 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7041 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7042 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7046 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7047 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7049 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7050 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7051 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse
7052 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7053 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7054 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7055 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7056 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7057 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7058 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7059 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7060 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7061 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7062 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7063 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7064 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7066 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7067 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7068 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7069 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7070 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse},
7071 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7072 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7073 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7074 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7075 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7077 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7078 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7079 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7081 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7082 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7083 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7084 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7085 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7086 ascending article order.
7088 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7089 by number, you could do something like:
7092 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7093 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7094 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7095 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7098 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7099 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7100 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7101 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7102 which the articles arrived.
7104 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7108 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7109 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7110 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7113 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7114 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7115 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7116 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7119 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7120 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7121 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7122 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7123 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7124 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7125 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7126 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7127 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7128 variable. It is very similar to the
7129 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7130 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7131 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7132 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7133 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7134 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7135 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7137 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7141 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7142 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7143 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7146 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7147 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7150 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7151 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7152 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7153 @cindex article pre-fetch
7156 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7157 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7158 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7159 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7160 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7162 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7163 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
7165 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7166 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7167 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7168 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7169 connection is blocked.
7171 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7172 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7173 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7174 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
7176 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7177 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7178 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7179 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7182 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7185 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7186 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7187 happen automatically.
7189 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7190 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7191 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7192 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7193 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7194 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7195 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7197 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7198 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7199 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7200 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7201 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7202 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7203 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7204 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7205 article data structure as the only parameter.
7207 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7208 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7211 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7212 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7213 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7214 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7217 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7220 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7221 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7222 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7224 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7225 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7226 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7227 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7231 Remove articles when they are read.
7234 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7237 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7239 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7240 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7241 @c from the next group.
7244 @node Article Caching
7245 @section Article Caching
7246 @cindex article caching
7249 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7250 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7251 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7252 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7253 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7255 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7257 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7258 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7259 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7260 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7261 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7262 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7263 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7264 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7266 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7267 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7268 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7269 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7270 as dormant, and don't worry.
7272 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7274 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7275 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7276 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7277 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7278 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7279 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7280 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7281 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7282 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7283 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7285 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7286 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7287 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7288 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7289 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7290 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7291 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7292 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7293 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7294 not then be downloaded by this command.
7296 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7297 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7298 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7299 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7300 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7301 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7303 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7304 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7305 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7306 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7307 variables, the group is not cached.
7309 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7310 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7311 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7312 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7313 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7314 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7315 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7316 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7317 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7320 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7321 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7322 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7323 where, isn't that cool?
7325 @node Persistent Articles
7326 @section Persistent Articles
7327 @cindex persistent articles
7329 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7330 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7331 useful in my opinion.
7333 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7334 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7335 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7336 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7337 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7338 the expiry going on at the news server.
7340 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7341 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7342 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7348 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7349 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7352 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7353 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7354 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7355 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7359 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7361 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7362 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7363 interested in persistent articles:
7366 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7370 @node Article Backlog
7371 @section Article Backlog
7373 @cindex article backlog
7375 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7376 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7377 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7378 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7379 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7380 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7381 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7382 increase memory usage some.
7384 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7385 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7386 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7387 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7388 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7389 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7390 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7392 The default value is 20.
7395 @node Saving Articles
7396 @section Saving Articles
7397 @cindex saving articles
7399 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7400 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7401 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7402 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7403 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7405 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7406 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7407 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7409 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7410 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7411 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7413 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7414 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7415 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7416 deleted before saving.
7422 @kindex O o (Summary)
7424 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7425 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7426 Save the current article using the default article saver
7427 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7430 @kindex O m (Summary)
7431 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7432 Save the current article in mail format
7433 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7436 @kindex O r (Summary)
7437 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7438 Save the current article in Rmail format
7439 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7442 @kindex O f (Summary)
7443 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7444 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7445 Save the current article in plain file format
7446 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7449 @kindex O F (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7451 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7452 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7455 @kindex O b (Summary)
7456 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7457 Save the current article body in plain file format
7458 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7461 @kindex O h (Summary)
7462 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7463 Save the current article in mh folder format
7464 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7467 @kindex O v (Summary)
7468 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7469 Save the current article in a VM folder
7470 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7474 @kindex O p (Summary)
7476 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7477 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7478 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7479 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7480 complete headers in the piped output.
7483 @kindex O P (Summary)
7484 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7485 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7486 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7487 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7488 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7489 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7490 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7494 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7495 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7496 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7497 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7498 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7499 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7500 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7501 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7502 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7503 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7504 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7505 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7509 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7510 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7511 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7512 functions below, or you can create your own.
7516 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7517 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7518 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7519 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7520 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7521 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7522 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7524 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7525 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7526 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7527 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7528 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7529 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7531 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7532 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7533 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7534 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7535 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7536 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7537 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7539 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7540 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7541 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7542 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7543 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7544 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7546 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7547 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7548 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7549 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7550 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7552 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7553 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7554 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7555 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7556 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7559 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7560 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7561 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7562 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7563 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7565 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7566 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7567 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7568 reader to use this setting.
7571 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7572 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7573 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7574 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7577 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7578 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7579 available functions that generate names:
7583 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7584 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7585 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7587 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7588 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7589 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7591 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7592 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7593 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7595 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7596 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7597 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7599 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7600 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7601 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7604 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7605 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7606 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7607 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7608 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7612 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7613 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7614 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7615 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7618 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7619 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7620 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7621 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7622 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7623 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7624 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7625 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7626 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7628 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7629 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7630 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7631 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7633 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7634 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7635 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7638 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7639 lots of mail groups called things like
7640 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7641 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7642 following will do just that:
7645 (defun my-save-name (group)
7646 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7647 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7649 (setq gnus-split-methods
7650 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7655 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7656 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7657 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7658 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7659 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7660 all the files in the top level directory
7661 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7662 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7663 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7664 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7666 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7667 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7668 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7669 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7670 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7673 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7677 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7678 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7679 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7682 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7683 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7684 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7685 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7688 @node Decoding Articles
7689 @section Decoding Articles
7690 @cindex decoding articles
7692 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7693 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7696 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7697 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7698 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7699 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7700 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7701 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7705 @cindex article series
7706 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7707 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7708 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7709 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7710 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7712 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7713 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7714 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7716 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7717 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7718 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7720 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7721 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7722 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7725 @node Uuencoded Articles
7726 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7728 @cindex uuencoded articles
7733 @kindex X u (Summary)
7734 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7735 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7736 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7739 @kindex X U (Summary)
7740 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7741 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7742 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7745 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7746 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7747 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7750 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7751 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7752 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7753 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7757 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7758 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7759 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7760 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7761 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7763 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7764 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7765 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7766 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7769 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7770 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7771 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7772 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7773 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7774 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7778 @node Shell Archives
7779 @subsection Shell Archives
7781 @cindex shell archives
7782 @cindex shared articles
7784 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7785 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7786 some commands to deal with these:
7791 @kindex X s (Summary)
7792 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7793 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7796 @kindex X S (Summary)
7797 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7798 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7801 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7802 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7803 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7806 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7807 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7808 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7809 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7813 @node PostScript Files
7814 @subsection PostScript Files
7820 @kindex X p (Summary)
7821 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7822 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7825 @kindex X P (Summary)
7826 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7827 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7828 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7831 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7832 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7833 View the current PostScript series
7834 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7837 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7838 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7839 View and save the current PostScript series
7840 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7845 @subsection Other Files
7849 @kindex X o (Summary)
7850 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7851 Save the current series
7852 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7855 @kindex X b (Summary)
7856 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7857 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7858 doesn't really work yet.
7862 @node Decoding Variables
7863 @subsection Decoding Variables
7865 Adjective, not verb.
7868 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7869 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7870 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7874 @node Rule Variables
7875 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7876 @cindex rule variables
7878 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7879 variables are of the form
7882 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7889 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7890 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7892 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7893 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7896 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7897 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7900 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7901 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7902 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7903 user and default view rules.
7905 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7906 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7907 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7912 @node Other Decode Variables
7913 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7916 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7918 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7919 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7920 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7921 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7922 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7926 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7927 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7930 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7931 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7932 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7935 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7936 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7937 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7938 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7939 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7942 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7943 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7944 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7946 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7947 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7948 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7949 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7950 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7953 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7954 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7955 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7957 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7958 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7959 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7960 looking for files to display.
7962 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7963 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7964 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7967 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7968 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7969 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7972 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7973 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7974 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7977 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7978 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7979 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7982 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7983 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7984 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7985 decoded articles as unread.
7987 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7988 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7989 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7990 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7992 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7993 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7994 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7996 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7997 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7999 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8000 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8001 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8002 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8004 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8005 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8006 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8007 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8008 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8009 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8010 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8011 simply dropped them.
8016 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8017 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8021 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8022 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8023 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8024 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8025 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8026 for you when you post the article.
8028 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8029 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8030 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8031 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8033 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8034 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8035 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8036 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8037 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8038 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8039 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8041 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8042 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8043 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8044 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8045 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8046 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8047 Default is @code{t}.
8053 @subsection Viewing Files
8054 @cindex viewing files
8055 @cindex pseudo-articles
8057 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
8058 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8059 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8060 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
8061 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8062 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8063 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8065 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8066 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8067 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8068 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8070 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8071 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8072 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8074 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8075 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8076 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8077 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8078 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8080 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8081 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8082 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8083 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8084 a list of parameters to that command.
8086 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8087 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8088 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8090 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8091 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8092 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8095 @node Article Treatment
8096 @section Article Treatment
8098 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8099 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8100 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8101 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8102 these articles easier.
8105 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8106 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8107 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8108 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8109 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8110 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8111 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8112 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8113 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8114 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8115 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8119 @node Article Highlighting
8120 @subsection Article Highlighting
8121 @cindex highlighting
8123 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8124 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8129 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8130 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8131 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8132 Do much highlighting of the current article
8133 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8134 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8137 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8138 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8139 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8140 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8141 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8142 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8143 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8144 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8145 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8146 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8147 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8148 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8151 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8152 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8153 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8155 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8158 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8160 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8161 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8162 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8164 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8165 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8166 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8168 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8169 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8170 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8171 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8172 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8173 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8175 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8176 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8177 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8179 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8180 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8181 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8183 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8184 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8185 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8186 that it's a citation.
8188 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8189 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8190 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8192 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8193 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8194 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8196 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8197 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8198 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8199 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8201 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8202 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8203 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8204 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8205 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8212 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8213 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8214 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8215 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8216 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8217 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8218 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8219 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8224 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8227 @node Article Fontisizing
8228 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8230 @cindex article emphasis
8232 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8233 @kindex W e (Summary)
8234 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8235 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8236 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8237 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8239 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8240 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8241 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8242 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8243 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8244 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8245 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8246 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8250 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8251 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8252 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8261 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8262 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8263 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8264 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8265 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8266 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8267 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8268 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8269 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8270 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8271 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8272 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8273 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8275 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8276 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8277 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8281 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8284 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8286 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8287 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8288 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8289 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8291 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8294 @node Article Hiding
8295 @subsection Article Hiding
8296 @cindex article hiding
8298 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8299 too much cruft in most articles.
8304 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8305 @findex gnus-article-hide
8306 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8307 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8308 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8311 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8312 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8313 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8317 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8318 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8319 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8320 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8323 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8324 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8325 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8329 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8330 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8331 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8332 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8333 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8334 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8335 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8336 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8340 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8341 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8342 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8343 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8348 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8349 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8350 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8351 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8354 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8355 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8356 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8357 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8360 @cindex stripping advertisements
8361 @cindex advertisements
8362 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8363 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8364 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8365 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8366 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8367 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8368 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8369 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8370 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8371 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8374 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8375 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8376 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8380 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8381 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8382 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8383 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8384 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8385 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8386 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8387 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8388 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8389 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8390 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8393 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8394 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8400 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8401 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8402 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8403 customizing the hiding:
8407 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8408 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8409 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8410 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8411 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8412 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8413 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8418 Starting point of the hidden text.
8420 Ending point of the hidden text.
8422 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8424 Number of lines of hidden text.
8427 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8428 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8429 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8430 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8431 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8436 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8437 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8439 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8440 following two variables:
8443 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8444 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8445 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8446 50), hide the cited text.
8448 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8449 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8450 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8455 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8456 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8457 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8458 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8459 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8460 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8464 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8465 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8466 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8468 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8469 citation customization.
8471 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8475 @node Article Washing
8476 @subsection Article Washing
8478 @cindex article washing
8480 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8481 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8483 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8484 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8487 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8488 articles by default.
8493 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8494 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8498 Force redisplaying of the current article
8499 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8500 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8501 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8502 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8505 @kindex W l (Summary)
8506 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8507 Remove page breaks from the current article
8508 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8512 @kindex W r (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8514 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8515 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8516 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8517 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8518 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8520 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8521 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8522 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8523 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8526 @kindex W m (Summary)
8527 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8528 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8531 @kindex W i (Summary)
8532 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8533 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8534 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8535 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8536 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8537 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8542 @kindex W t (Summary)
8544 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8545 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8546 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8549 @kindex W v (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8551 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8552 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8555 @kindex W m (Summary)
8556 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8557 Toggle whether to run the article through @acronym{MIME} before
8558 displaying (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8561 @kindex W o (Summary)
8562 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8563 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8566 @kindex W d (Summary)
8567 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8568 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8570 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8572 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8573 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8574 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8575 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8578 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8579 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8580 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8581 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8584 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8586 @cindex Outlook Express
8587 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8588 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8589 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8592 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8593 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8594 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8595 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8596 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8597 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8598 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8599 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8600 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8601 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8604 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8605 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8606 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8607 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8610 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8611 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8612 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8613 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8616 @kindex W w (Summary)
8617 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8618 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8620 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8624 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8625 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8626 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8629 @kindex W C (Summary)
8630 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8631 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8632 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8635 @kindex W c (Summary)
8636 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8637 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8638 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8639 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8640 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8642 @kindex W q (Summary)
8643 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8644 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8645 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8646 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8647 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8648 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8649 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8650 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8651 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8654 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8655 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8656 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8657 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8658 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8659 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8660 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8661 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8664 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8666 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8667 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8668 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8671 @kindex W A (Summary)
8672 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8673 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8674 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8675 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8676 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8679 @kindex W u (Summary)
8680 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8681 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8682 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8683 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8684 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8687 @kindex W h (Summary)
8688 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8689 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8690 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8691 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8693 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
8694 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
8695 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
8697 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8698 The default is to use the function specified by
8699 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8700 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8701 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8702 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8710 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8712 @item w3m-standalone
8713 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
8716 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8719 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8722 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8727 @kindex W b (Summary)
8728 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8729 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8730 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8733 @kindex W B (Summary)
8734 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8735 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8736 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8739 @kindex W p (Summary)
8740 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8741 Verify a signed control message
8742 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8743 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8744 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8745 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8746 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8747 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8750 @kindex W s (Summary)
8751 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8752 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8753 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8754 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8757 @kindex W a (Summary)
8758 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8759 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8760 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8763 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8764 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8765 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8766 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8769 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8770 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8771 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8772 lines with a single empty line.
8773 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8776 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8777 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8778 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8779 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8782 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8783 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8784 Do all the three commands above
8785 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8788 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8789 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8790 Remove all blank lines
8791 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8794 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8795 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8796 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8797 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8800 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8801 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8802 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8803 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8807 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8810 @node Article Header
8811 @subsection Article Header
8813 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8818 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8819 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8820 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8823 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8824 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8825 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8826 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8829 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8830 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8831 Fold all the message headers
8832 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8835 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8836 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8837 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8838 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8843 @node Article Buttons
8844 @subsection Article Buttons
8847 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8848 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8849 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8850 button on these references.
8852 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8853 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8854 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8855 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8856 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8860 @item gnus-button-alist
8861 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8862 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8865 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8871 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8872 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8873 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8874 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8875 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8878 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8879 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8880 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8883 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8884 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8885 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8886 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8887 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8889 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8892 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8895 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8896 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8900 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8903 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8906 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8907 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8908 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8909 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8910 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8913 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8916 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8919 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8922 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8923 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8925 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8927 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8928 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8929 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8930 default values of the variables above.
8932 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8934 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8935 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8936 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8937 argument with a string naming the man page.
8939 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8941 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8942 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8943 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8945 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8946 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8947 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8948 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8949 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8950 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8951 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8952 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8953 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8954 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8955 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8956 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8958 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8959 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8960 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8961 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8962 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8965 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8966 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8967 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8968 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8970 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8972 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8973 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8974 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8975 argument, the string naming the URL.
8978 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8979 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8980 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8984 @item gnus-article-button-face
8985 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8986 Face used on buttons.
8988 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8989 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8990 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8994 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8997 @node Article Button Levels
8998 @subsection Article button levels
8999 @cindex button levels
9000 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9001 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9002 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9003 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9004 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9005 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9006 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9007 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9010 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9011 (setq gnus-parameters
9012 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9013 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9014 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9019 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9020 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9021 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9022 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9023 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9024 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9026 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9027 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9028 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9029 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9030 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9031 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9032 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9033 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9034 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9035 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9036 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9037 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9038 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9040 @item gnus-button-man-level
9041 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9042 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9043 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9045 @item gnus-button-message-level
9046 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9047 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9048 Related variables and functions include
9049 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9050 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9051 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9052 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9054 @item gnus-button-tex-level
9055 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
9056 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
9057 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
9058 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
9059 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
9060 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
9066 @subsection Article Date
9068 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9069 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9070 when the article was sent.
9075 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9076 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9077 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9078 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9081 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9082 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9084 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9085 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9088 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9089 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9090 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9093 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9094 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9095 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9096 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9099 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9100 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9101 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9102 @findex format-time-string
9103 Display the date using a user-defined format
9104 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9105 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9106 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9107 for a list of possible format specs.
9110 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9111 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9112 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9113 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9114 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9115 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9118 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9121 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9122 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9123 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9126 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9127 into wonderful absurdities.
9129 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9132 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9135 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9136 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9140 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9141 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9142 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9143 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9144 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9145 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9146 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9150 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9151 preferred format automatically.
9154 @node Article Display
9155 @subsection Article Display
9160 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9161 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9163 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9164 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9166 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9167 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9169 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9170 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9172 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9173 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9175 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9180 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9181 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9182 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9183 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9186 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9187 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9188 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9189 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9192 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9193 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9194 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9197 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9198 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9199 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9202 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9203 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9204 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9205 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9208 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9209 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9210 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9211 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9214 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9215 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9216 Remove all images from the article buffer
9217 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9223 @node Article Signature
9224 @subsection Article Signature
9226 @cindex article signature
9228 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9229 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9230 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9231 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9232 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9233 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9234 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9235 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9236 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9239 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9240 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9241 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9242 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9243 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9244 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9245 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9246 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9249 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9252 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9253 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9254 signature when displaying articles.
9258 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9261 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9264 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9265 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9267 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9268 in question is not a signature.
9271 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9272 listed above. Here's an example:
9275 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9276 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9279 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9280 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9281 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9282 signature after all.
9285 @node Article Miscellanea
9286 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9290 @kindex A t (Summary)
9291 @findex gnus-article-babel
9292 Translate the article from one language to another
9293 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9299 @section MIME Commands
9300 @cindex MIME decoding
9302 @cindex viewing attachments
9304 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9305 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9311 @kindex K v (Summary)
9312 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9315 @kindex K o (Summary)
9316 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9319 @kindex K O (Summary)
9320 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9321 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9322 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9325 @kindex K r (Summary)
9326 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9329 @kindex K d (Summary)
9330 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9334 @kindex K c (Summary)
9335 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9338 @kindex K e (Summary)
9339 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9342 @kindex K i (Summary)
9343 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9346 @kindex K | (Summary)
9347 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9350 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9355 @kindex K b (Summary)
9356 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9357 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9361 @kindex K m (Summary)
9362 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9363 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9364 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9365 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9366 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9369 @kindex X m (Summary)
9370 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9371 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9372 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9373 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9376 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9377 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9378 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9379 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9382 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9383 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9384 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9385 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9388 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9389 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9390 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9391 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9393 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9394 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9395 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9396 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9397 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9398 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9401 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9402 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9403 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9404 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9411 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9412 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9413 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9414 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9417 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9420 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9424 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9425 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9426 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9427 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9428 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9429 default is @code{nil}.
9431 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9432 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9433 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9434 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9435 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9436 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9437 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9439 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9440 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9441 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9442 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9443 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9444 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9445 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9446 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9448 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9449 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9450 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9451 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9452 displayed. This variable overrides
9453 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9454 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9457 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9458 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9459 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9461 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9462 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9463 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9464 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9465 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9467 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9468 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9469 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9470 default value is @code{nil}.
9472 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9473 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9474 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9475 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9476 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9477 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9478 save all jpegs into some directory).
9480 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9483 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9484 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9486 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9487 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9488 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9489 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9490 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9493 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9494 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9495 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9497 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9498 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9499 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9501 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9502 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9503 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9505 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9506 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9507 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9508 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9509 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9511 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9512 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9513 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9514 overrides @code{nil} values of
9515 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9516 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9518 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9519 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9520 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9521 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9523 Ready-made functions include@*
9524 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9525 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9526 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9527 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9528 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9529 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9530 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9531 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9532 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9533 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9534 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9535 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9537 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9538 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9540 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9541 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9542 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9545 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9546 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9547 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9548 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9552 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9561 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9562 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9563 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9564 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9565 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9566 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9567 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9569 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9570 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9571 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9572 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9574 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9575 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9576 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9577 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9578 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9579 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9580 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9581 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9582 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9584 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9585 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9586 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9587 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9588 quoted-printable header encoding.
9590 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9591 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9592 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9596 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9599 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9600 means encode all charsets),
9602 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9603 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9604 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9611 @cindex coding system aliases
9612 @cindex preferred charset
9614 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9615 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9616 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9618 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9620 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9621 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9624 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9625 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9628 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9629 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9631 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9634 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9637 This will almost do the right thing.
9639 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9643 (codepage-setup 1251)
9644 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9648 @node Article Commands
9649 @section Article Commands
9656 @kindex A P (Summary)
9657 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9658 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9659 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9660 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9661 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9662 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9667 @node Summary Sorting
9668 @section Summary Sorting
9669 @cindex summary sorting
9671 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9672 can't really see why you'd want that.
9677 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9678 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9679 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9682 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9683 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9684 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9687 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
9688 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
9689 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
9692 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9693 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9694 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9697 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9698 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9699 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9702 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9703 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9704 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9707 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9708 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9709 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9712 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9713 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9714 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9717 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9718 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9719 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9722 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9723 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9724 Sort using the default sorting method
9725 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9728 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9729 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9730 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9731 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9732 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9736 @node Finding the Parent
9737 @section Finding the Parent
9738 @cindex parent articles
9739 @cindex referring articles
9744 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9745 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9746 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9747 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9748 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9749 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9750 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9751 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9752 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9754 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9755 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9756 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9757 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9758 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9762 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9763 @kindex A R (Summary)
9764 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9765 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9768 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9769 @kindex A T (Summary)
9770 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9771 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9772 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9773 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9774 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9775 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9776 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9778 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9779 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9780 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9781 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9782 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9783 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9786 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9787 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9789 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9790 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
9791 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
9792 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
9793 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
9794 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9796 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
9797 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
9798 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
9801 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9802 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9803 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9804 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9805 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9806 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9809 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9810 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9811 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9814 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9815 then ask Google if that fails:
9818 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9820 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9823 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9824 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9825 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9826 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9827 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9828 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9829 not support this at all.
9832 @node Alternative Approaches
9833 @section Alternative Approaches
9835 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9836 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9839 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9840 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9845 @subsection Pick and Read
9846 @cindex pick and read
9848 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9849 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9850 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9851 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9853 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9854 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9855 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9856 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9857 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9858 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9860 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9865 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9866 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9867 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9868 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9869 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9870 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9871 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9872 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9875 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9876 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9877 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9878 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9882 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9883 Unpick the thread or article
9884 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9885 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9886 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9887 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9888 the thread or article at that line.
9892 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9893 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9894 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9895 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9896 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9897 will still be visible when you are reading.
9901 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9902 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9903 which is mapped to the same function
9904 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9906 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9909 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9912 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9913 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9915 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9916 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9917 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9919 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9920 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9921 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9922 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9923 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9924 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9925 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9929 @subsection Binary Groups
9930 @cindex binary groups
9932 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9933 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9934 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9935 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9936 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9937 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9938 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9941 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9942 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9943 command, when you have turned on this mode
9944 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9946 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9947 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9951 @section Tree Display
9954 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9955 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9956 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9957 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9960 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9963 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9964 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9965 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9967 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9968 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9969 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9970 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9971 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9973 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9974 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9975 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9976 default is @code{modeline}.
9978 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9979 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9980 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9981 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9982 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9983 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9984 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9990 The name of the poster.
9992 The @code{From} header.
9994 The number of the article.
9996 The opening bracket.
9998 The closing bracket.
10003 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10005 Variables related to the display are:
10008 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10009 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10010 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10011 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10013 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10014 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10015 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10017 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10019 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10020 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10021 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10022 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10026 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10027 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10028 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
10029 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
10030 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10031 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10032 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10033 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10034 other windows displayed next to it.
10036 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10040 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10041 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10044 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10045 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10046 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10047 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10048 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10049 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10050 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10054 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10057 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10067 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10072 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10073 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10075 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10077 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10083 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10084 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10085 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10088 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10089 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10090 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10091 (gnus-add-configuration
10095 (summary 0.75 point)
10100 @xref{Window Layout}.
10103 @node Mail Group Commands
10104 @section Mail Group Commands
10105 @cindex mail group commands
10107 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10108 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10110 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10111 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10116 @kindex B e (Summary)
10117 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10118 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10119 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10120 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10121 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10124 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10125 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10126 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10127 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10128 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10129 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10132 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10133 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10134 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10135 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10136 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10137 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10140 @kindex B m (Summary)
10142 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10143 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10144 Move the article from one mail group to another
10145 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10146 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10149 @kindex B c (Summary)
10151 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10152 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10153 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10154 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10155 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10158 @kindex B B (Summary)
10159 @cindex crosspost mail
10160 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10161 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10162 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10163 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10164 be properly updated.
10167 @kindex B i (Summary)
10168 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10169 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10170 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10171 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10174 @kindex B I (Summary)
10175 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10176 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10177 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10178 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10181 @kindex B r (Summary)
10182 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10183 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10184 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10185 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10186 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10187 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10188 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10189 (which is the default).
10193 @kindex B w (Summary)
10194 @kindex e (Summary)
10195 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10196 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10197 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10198 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10199 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10200 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10201 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10204 @kindex B q (Summary)
10205 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10206 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10207 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10208 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10211 @kindex B t (Summary)
10212 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10213 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10214 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10217 @kindex B p (Summary)
10218 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10219 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10220 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10221 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10222 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10223 article from your news server (or rather, from
10224 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10225 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10226 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10227 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10228 just not have arrived yet.
10231 @kindex K E (Summary)
10232 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10233 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10234 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10235 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10236 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10240 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10241 @cindex moving articles
10242 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
10243 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10244 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10245 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10246 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10247 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10248 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10251 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10252 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10253 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10254 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10258 @node Various Summary Stuff
10259 @section Various Summary Stuff
10262 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10263 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10264 * Summary Generation Commands::
10265 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10269 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10270 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10271 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10272 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10273 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10274 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10276 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10277 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10278 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10281 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10282 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10283 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10285 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10286 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10287 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10288 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10289 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10290 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10293 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10294 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10295 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10296 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10297 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10299 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10300 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10301 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10304 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10305 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10306 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10307 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10308 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10309 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10310 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10311 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10312 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10313 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10315 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10316 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10317 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10318 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10319 list of articles to be selected.
10321 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10322 the list in one particular group:
10325 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10326 (if (string= group "some.group")
10327 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10331 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10332 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10333 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10334 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10335 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10338 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10339 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10340 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10341 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10342 variable will be used instead.
10344 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10345 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10346 buffers. For example:
10349 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10350 '(message-use-followup-to
10351 (gnus-visible-headers .
10352 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10355 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10359 @node Summary Group Information
10360 @subsection Summary Group Information
10365 @kindex H f (Summary)
10366 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10367 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10368 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10369 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10370 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10371 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10372 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10373 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10374 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10377 @kindex H d (Summary)
10378 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10379 Give a brief description of the current group
10380 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10381 rereading the description from the server.
10384 @kindex H h (Summary)
10385 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10386 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10387 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10390 @kindex H i (Summary)
10391 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10392 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10396 @node Searching for Articles
10397 @subsection Searching for Articles
10402 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10403 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10404 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10405 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10408 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10409 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10410 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10411 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10414 @kindex & (Summary)
10415 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10416 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10417 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10418 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10419 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10420 search backward instead.
10422 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10423 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10426 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10427 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10428 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10429 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10432 @node Summary Generation Commands
10433 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10438 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10439 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10440 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10443 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10444 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10445 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10446 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10449 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10450 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10451 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10452 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10457 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10458 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10464 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10465 @kindex A D (Summary)
10466 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10467 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10468 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10469 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10470 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10471 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10472 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10473 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10477 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10478 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10479 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10480 several documents into one biiig group
10481 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10482 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10483 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10484 command understands the process/prefix convention
10485 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10488 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10489 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10490 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10491 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10492 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10493 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10496 @kindex = (Summary)
10497 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10498 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10499 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10502 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10503 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10504 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10505 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10508 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10509 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10510 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10511 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10516 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10517 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10518 @cindex summary exit
10519 @cindex exiting groups
10521 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10522 group and return you to the group buffer.
10529 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10530 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10531 @kindex q (Summary)
10532 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10533 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10534 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10535 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10536 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10537 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10538 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10539 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10540 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10541 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10542 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10543 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10547 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10548 @kindex Q (Summary)
10549 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10550 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10551 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10555 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10556 @kindex c (Summary)
10557 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10558 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10559 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10560 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10563 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10564 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10565 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10566 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10569 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10570 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10571 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10572 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10575 @kindex Z p (Summary)
10576 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
10577 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
10578 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
10582 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10583 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10584 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10585 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10586 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10587 all articles, both read and unread.
10591 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10592 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10593 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10594 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10595 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10596 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10597 articles, both read and unread.
10600 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10601 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10602 Exit the group and go to the next group
10603 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10606 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10607 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10608 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10609 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10612 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10613 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10614 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10615 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10616 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10617 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10620 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10621 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10622 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10623 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10625 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10626 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10627 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10628 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10629 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10630 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10631 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10632 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10633 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10634 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10635 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10636 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10638 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10640 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10641 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10642 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10643 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10644 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10645 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10646 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10647 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10648 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10651 @node Crosspost Handling
10652 @section Crosspost Handling
10656 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10657 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10658 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10659 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10660 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10661 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10664 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10665 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10666 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10667 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10668 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10670 @cindex cross-posting
10672 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10673 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10674 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10675 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10676 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10677 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10678 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10679 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10680 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10681 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10682 the cross reference mechanism.
10684 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10685 @cindex overview.fmt
10686 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10687 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10688 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10689 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10690 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10691 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10694 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10695 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10696 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10701 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10704 @node Duplicate Suppression
10705 @section Duplicate Suppression
10707 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10708 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10709 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10710 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10715 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10716 is evil and not very common.
10719 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10720 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10723 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10724 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10727 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10730 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10731 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10733 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10734 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10735 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10736 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10737 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10738 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10739 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10742 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10743 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10744 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10745 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10746 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10747 saw the article in.
10750 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10751 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10752 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10754 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10755 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10756 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10757 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10758 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10759 session are suppressed.
10761 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10762 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10763 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10764 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10766 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10767 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10768 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10769 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10772 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10773 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10774 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10775 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10776 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10777 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10778 to you to figure out, I think.
10783 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10784 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10785 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10790 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10791 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10792 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10793 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10796 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10797 or newer is recommended.
10801 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10802 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10805 @item mm-verify-option
10806 @vindex mm-verify-option
10807 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10808 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10809 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10811 @item mm-decrypt-option
10812 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10813 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10814 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10815 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10818 @vindex mml1991-use
10819 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10820 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10821 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10825 @vindex mml2015-use
10826 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10827 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10828 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10833 @cindex snarfing keys
10834 @cindex importing PGP keys
10835 @cindex PGP key ring import
10836 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10837 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10838 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10839 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10840 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10841 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10842 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10843 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10844 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10847 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10850 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10851 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10854 @section Mailing List
10855 @cindex mailing list
10858 @kindex A M (summary)
10859 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10860 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10861 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10862 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10865 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10870 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10871 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10872 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10875 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10876 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10877 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10880 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10881 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10882 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10886 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10887 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10888 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10891 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10892 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10893 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10896 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10897 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
10898 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10903 @node Article Buffer
10904 @chapter Article Buffer
10905 @cindex article buffer
10907 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10908 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10909 tell gnus otherwise.
10912 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10913 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10914 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10915 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10916 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10920 @node Hiding Headers
10921 @section Hiding Headers
10922 @cindex hiding headers
10923 @cindex deleting headers
10925 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10926 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10928 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10929 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10930 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10931 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10932 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10933 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10934 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10935 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10936 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10938 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10942 @item gnus-visible-headers
10943 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10944 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10945 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10946 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10948 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10949 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10952 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10955 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10958 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10959 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10960 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10961 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10962 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10963 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10965 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10966 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10969 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10972 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10975 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10976 variable will have no effect.
10980 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10981 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10982 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10983 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10984 the headers are to be displayed.
10986 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10987 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10990 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10993 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10994 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10996 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10997 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10998 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10999 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11000 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11001 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11002 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11005 These conditions are:
11008 Remove all empty headers.
11010 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11011 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11013 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11014 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11017 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11020 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11021 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11023 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11024 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11026 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
11027 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11029 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11032 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
11034 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
11037 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11040 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11041 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11044 This is also the default value for this variable.
11048 @section Using MIME
11049 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11051 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11052 while people stand around yawning.
11054 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11055 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11057 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11058 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11059 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11061 @vindex gnus-show-mime
11062 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
11063 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
11064 gnus handles @acronym{MIME} by pushing the articles through
11065 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
11066 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
11067 calls the @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For
11068 more information on @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View, see its manual page
11069 (however it is not existed yet, sorry).
11071 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
11072 @acronym{MIME} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set,
11073 then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
11074 These can't be avoided.
11076 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
11077 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
11078 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
11079 @acronym{MIME} has decoded the sound file in the article and some
11080 horrible sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you
11081 can't find the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are
11082 starting to look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't,
11083 and you can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else
11084 in the room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll
11085 feel rather stupid.)
11087 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11089 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
11090 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
11091 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
11092 buffer when there are nobody else.
11094 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11097 @node Customizing Articles
11098 @section Customizing Articles
11099 @cindex article customization
11101 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11102 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11103 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11104 called automatically when you select the articles.
11106 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11107 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11108 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11109 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11111 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11112 for sensible values.
11116 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11119 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11122 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11125 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11128 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11131 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11135 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11136 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11137 regexps in the list.
11140 A list where the first element is not a string:
11142 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11143 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11144 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11148 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11152 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
11157 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11158 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11159 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11160 considered to contain just a single part.
11162 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11163 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11164 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11165 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11166 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11167 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11168 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11170 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11171 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11172 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11173 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11176 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11177 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11179 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11181 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11182 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11183 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11184 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11185 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11186 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11187 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11188 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11189 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11190 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11191 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
11193 @xref{Article Washing}.
11195 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11196 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11197 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11198 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11199 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11200 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11201 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11203 @xref{Article Date}.
11205 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11206 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11207 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11211 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11213 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11215 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11216 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11217 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11221 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11225 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11229 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11230 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11231 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11232 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11233 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11234 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11235 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11236 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11237 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11238 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11240 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11242 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11243 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11244 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11246 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11248 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11249 @item gnus-treat-translate
11250 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11251 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11253 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11254 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11255 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11256 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11258 @xref{Article Header}.
11263 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11264 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11265 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11266 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11267 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11271 @node Article Keymap
11272 @section Article Keymap
11274 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11275 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11276 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11277 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11280 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11285 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11286 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11287 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11288 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11291 @kindex DEL (Article)
11292 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11293 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11294 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11297 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11298 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11299 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11300 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11301 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11304 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11305 @findex gnus-article-mail
11306 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11307 given a prefix, include the mail.
11310 @kindex s (Article)
11311 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11312 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11313 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11316 @kindex ? (Article)
11317 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11318 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11319 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11322 @kindex TAB (Article)
11323 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11324 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11325 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11328 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11329 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11330 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11333 @kindex R (Article)
11334 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11335 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11336 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11337 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11341 @kindex F (Article)
11342 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11343 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11344 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11345 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11353 @section Misc Article
11357 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11358 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11359 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11360 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11363 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11364 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11365 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11366 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11367 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11369 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11370 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11371 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11372 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11373 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11374 the contents of the article buffer.
11376 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11377 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11378 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11380 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11381 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11382 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11383 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11385 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11386 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11387 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11388 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11390 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11391 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11392 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11393 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11394 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11395 with two extensions:
11400 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11401 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11402 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11407 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11410 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11413 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11414 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11415 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11418 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11421 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11424 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11429 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11433 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11435 @item gnus-break-pages
11436 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11437 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11438 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11439 paging will not be done.
11441 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11442 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11443 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11447 @cindex internationalized domain names
11448 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11449 @item gnus-use-idna
11450 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11451 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11452 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
11453 for how to compose such messages. This requires
11454 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11455 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11460 @node Composing Messages
11461 @chapter Composing Messages
11462 @cindex composing messages
11465 @cindex sending mail
11470 @cindex using s/mime
11471 @cindex using smime
11473 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11474 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11475 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11476 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11477 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11478 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11481 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11482 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11483 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11484 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11485 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11486 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11487 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11488 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11489 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11492 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11493 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11499 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11502 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11503 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11504 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11505 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11506 @code{nil} include all headers.
11508 @item gnus-add-to-list
11509 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11510 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11511 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11513 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11514 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11515 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
11516 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
11517 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
11518 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
11519 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
11520 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
11522 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11523 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11525 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11526 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11527 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11528 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11529 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11534 @node Posting Server
11535 @section Posting Server
11537 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11538 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11540 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11542 It can be quite complicated.
11544 @vindex gnus-post-method
11545 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11546 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11547 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11548 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11549 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11550 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11551 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11552 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11553 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11556 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11559 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11560 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11561 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11562 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11564 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11565 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11567 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11568 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11571 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11572 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11574 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11575 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11576 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11577 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11578 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11579 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11580 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11581 package correctly. An example:
11584 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11585 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11586 ;; @r{The following variable needs to be set if you are using smtpmail.el}
11587 ;; @r{distributed with FLIM, lesser than the version 1.14.6.}
11588 (setq smtp-default-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11591 To the thing similar to this, there is
11592 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11593 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11594 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11596 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11597 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11598 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11600 @node POP before SMTP
11601 @section POP before SMTP
11602 @cindex pop before smtp
11603 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11604 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11606 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11607 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11608 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11609 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11610 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11613 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11614 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11618 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11619 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11620 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11621 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11622 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11623 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11624 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11625 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11627 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11628 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11629 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11630 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11631 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11632 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11635 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11636 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11637 :password "secret"))
11641 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11642 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11645 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
11647 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
11648 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11649 :password "secret")))
11650 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
11653 @node Mail and Post
11654 @section Mail and Post
11656 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11660 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11661 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11662 @cindex mailing lists
11664 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11665 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11666 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11667 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11668 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11669 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11670 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11671 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11672 still a pain, though.
11674 @item gnus-user-agent
11675 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11678 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11679 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11680 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11681 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11682 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11683 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11684 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11688 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11689 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11690 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11693 @findex ispell-message
11695 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11698 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11699 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11702 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11706 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11707 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11709 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11712 Modify to suit your needs.
11715 @node Archived Messages
11716 @section Archived Messages
11717 @cindex archived messages
11718 @cindex sent messages
11720 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11721 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11722 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11723 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11726 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11727 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11730 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11731 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11732 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11735 (nnfolder "archive"
11736 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11737 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11738 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11739 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11742 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11743 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11744 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11745 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11748 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11749 '(nnfolder "archive"
11750 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11751 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11752 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11755 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11757 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11758 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11759 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11761 This variable can be used to do the following:
11765 Messages will be saved in that group.
11767 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11768 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11769 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11770 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11771 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11772 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11773 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11774 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11777 @item a list of strings
11778 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11780 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11781 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11784 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11789 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11791 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11794 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11796 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11799 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11801 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11802 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11803 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11804 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11807 More complex stuff:
11809 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11810 '((if (message-news-p)
11815 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11816 messages in one file per month:
11819 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11820 '((if (message-news-p)
11822 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11825 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11826 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11828 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11829 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11830 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11831 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11832 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11833 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11834 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11835 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11836 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11837 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11839 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11840 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11841 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11842 this will disable archiving.
11845 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11846 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11847 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11848 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11849 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11852 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11853 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11854 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11857 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11858 but the latter is the preferred method.
11860 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11861 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11862 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11864 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11865 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11866 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11867 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11868 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11869 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11870 changed in the future.
11875 @node Posting Styles
11876 @section Posting Styles
11877 @cindex posting styles
11880 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11882 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11883 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11884 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11887 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11888 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11889 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11890 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11891 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11896 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11897 (organization "What me?"))
11899 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11900 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11901 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11904 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11905 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11906 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11907 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11908 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11909 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11910 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11911 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11913 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11914 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11915 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11916 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11917 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11918 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11919 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11920 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11921 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11922 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11923 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11924 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11925 said to @dfn{match}.
11927 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11928 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
11929 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
11930 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
11931 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
11932 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
11933 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
11934 name can be one of:
11937 @item @code{signature}
11938 @item @code{signature-file}
11939 @item @code{x-face-file}
11940 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11941 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11945 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11946 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11947 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11948 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11949 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11951 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11952 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11953 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11954 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11955 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11956 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11957 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11958 references chars lines xref extra.
11960 @vindex message-reply-headers
11962 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11963 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11964 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11966 @findex message-mail-p
11967 @findex message-news-p
11969 So here's a new example:
11972 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11974 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11976 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
11977 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11978 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11980 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11981 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11982 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11983 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11984 (signature my-news-signature))
11985 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11986 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11987 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11988 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11989 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11990 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11991 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11992 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11993 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11994 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11996 (From (save-excursion
11997 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11998 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12000 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12003 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12004 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12005 if you fill many roles.
12007 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
12008 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
12009 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
12010 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
12011 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
12012 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
12013 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
12014 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
12019 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
12021 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12023 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12024 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12027 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
12030 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
12031 "Default" except @code{organization}.
12038 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12039 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12040 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12041 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12042 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12044 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12045 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12046 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12047 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12048 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12052 @vindex nndraft-directory
12053 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12054 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12055 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12056 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12057 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12058 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12060 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12061 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12062 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12063 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12064 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12065 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12066 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12067 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12068 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12070 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12071 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12072 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12073 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12074 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12075 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12076 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12077 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12078 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12079 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12080 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12081 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12082 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12083 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12085 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12086 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12087 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12089 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12090 @kindex D e (Draft)
12091 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12092 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12093 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12095 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12098 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12099 @kindex D s (Draft)
12100 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12101 @kindex D S (Draft)
12102 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12103 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12104 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12105 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12106 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12109 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12110 @kindex D t (Draft)
12111 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12112 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12113 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12116 @node Rejected Articles
12117 @section Rejected Articles
12118 @cindex rejected articles
12120 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12121 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12122 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12123 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12125 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
12126 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12127 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12128 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
12129 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12131 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12132 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12133 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12135 @node Signing and encrypting
12136 @section Signing and encrypting
12138 @cindex using s/mime
12139 @cindex using smime
12141 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12142 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12143 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12144 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12146 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12147 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12148 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12149 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12150 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12151 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12152 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12153 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12154 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12155 automatically encrypted messages.
12157 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12158 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12159 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12164 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12165 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12167 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12170 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12171 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12173 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12176 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12177 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12179 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12182 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12183 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12185 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12188 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12189 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12191 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12194 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12195 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12197 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12200 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12201 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12202 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12206 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12208 @node Select Methods
12209 @chapter Select Methods
12210 @cindex foreign groups
12211 @cindex select methods
12213 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12214 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12215 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12216 personal mail group.
12218 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12219 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12220 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12221 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12222 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12223 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12225 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12226 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12228 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12231 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12232 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12233 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12234 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12235 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12237 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12240 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12241 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12242 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12243 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12244 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12245 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12246 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12247 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
12248 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12252 @node Server Buffer
12253 @section Server Buffer
12255 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12256 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12257 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12258 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12259 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12260 back end represents a virtual server.
12262 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12263 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12264 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12265 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12267 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12268 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12269 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12270 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12271 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12272 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12273 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12275 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12276 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12279 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12280 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12281 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12282 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12283 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12284 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12285 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12288 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12289 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12292 @node Server Buffer Format
12293 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12294 @cindex server buffer format
12296 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12297 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12298 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12299 variable, with some simple extensions:
12304 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12307 The name of this server.
12310 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12313 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12316 Whether this server is agentized.
12319 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12320 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12321 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12322 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12332 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12335 @node Server Commands
12336 @subsection Server Commands
12337 @cindex server commands
12343 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12344 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12348 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12349 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12352 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12353 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12354 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12358 @findex gnus-server-exit
12359 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12363 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12364 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12368 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12369 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12373 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12374 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12378 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12379 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12383 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12384 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12385 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12390 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12391 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12392 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12393 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12398 @node Example Methods
12399 @subsection Example Methods
12401 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12404 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12407 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12413 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12414 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12417 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12418 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12420 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12421 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12425 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12428 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12429 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12431 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12432 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12433 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12437 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12440 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12443 Here's the method for a public spool:
12447 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12448 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12454 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12455 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12456 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12457 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12458 should probably look something like this:
12462 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12463 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12464 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12465 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12468 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12469 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12470 configuration to the example above:
12473 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12476 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
12477 an indirect connection:
12479 (setq gnus-select-method
12481 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
12482 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
12483 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
12484 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12485 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
12486 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
12487 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)))
12490 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12491 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12492 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12496 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12497 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12498 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12499 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12502 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12503 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12504 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12505 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12508 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12509 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12511 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12512 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12514 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12515 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12516 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12518 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12520 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12521 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12522 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12523 will contain the following:
12533 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12534 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12537 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12538 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12539 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12542 @node Server Variables
12543 @subsection Server Variables
12544 @cindex server variables
12545 @cindex server parameters
12547 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12548 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12549 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12550 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12551 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12553 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12554 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12555 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12556 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12557 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12558 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12559 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12560 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12561 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12565 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12566 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12567 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12570 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12572 @node Servers and Methods
12573 @subsection Servers and Methods
12575 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12576 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12577 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12578 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12582 @node Unavailable Servers
12583 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12585 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12586 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12587 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12588 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12589 actually the case or not.
12591 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12592 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12593 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12594 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12595 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12596 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12597 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12598 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12600 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12601 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12603 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12604 with the following commands:
12610 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12611 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12612 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12616 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12617 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12618 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12622 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12623 Mark the current server as unreachable
12624 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12627 @kindex M-o (Server)
12628 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12629 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12630 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12633 @kindex M-c (Server)
12634 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12635 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12636 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12640 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12641 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12642 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12646 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12647 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12653 @section Getting News
12654 @cindex reading news
12655 @cindex news back ends
12657 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12658 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12659 or it can read from a local spool.
12662 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12663 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12671 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12672 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12673 server as the, uhm, address.
12675 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12676 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12677 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12678 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12680 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12681 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12682 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12684 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12689 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12690 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12691 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12693 @cindex authentification
12694 @cindex nntp authentification
12695 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12696 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12697 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12698 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12699 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12700 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12701 present in this hook.
12703 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12704 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12705 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12706 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12707 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12708 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12709 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12710 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12711 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12712 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12713 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12714 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12718 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12721 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12723 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12724 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12725 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12726 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12727 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12728 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12729 @samp{force} is explained below.
12733 Here's an example file:
12736 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12737 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12740 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12741 have to be first, for instance.
12743 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12744 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12745 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12746 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12747 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12748 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12749 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12751 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12752 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12758 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12759 previously mentioned.
12761 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12763 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12764 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12765 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12766 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12767 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12770 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12771 '(("innd" (ding))))
12774 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12776 The default value is
12779 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12780 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12781 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12784 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12785 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12787 @item nntp-maximum-request
12788 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12789 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12790 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12791 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12792 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12793 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12794 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12796 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12797 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12798 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12799 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12800 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12801 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12802 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12803 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12804 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12805 no timeouts are done.
12807 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12808 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12809 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12810 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12813 @item nntp-xover-commands
12814 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12815 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12817 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12818 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12822 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12823 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12824 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12825 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12826 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12827 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12828 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12829 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12830 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12831 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12832 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12834 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12835 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12836 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12838 @item nntp-record-commands
12839 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12840 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12841 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12842 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12843 that doesn't seem to work.
12845 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12846 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12847 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12848 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12849 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12850 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
12851 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
12852 indirect ones (three pre-made).
12854 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12855 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12856 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12857 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12858 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12859 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12860 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12863 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12866 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12867 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12869 @item nntp-list-options
12870 @vindex nntp-list-options
12871 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12872 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12873 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12874 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12875 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12879 (setq gnus-select-method
12880 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12881 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12884 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12885 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12886 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12887 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12888 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12889 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12890 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12893 (setq gnus-select-method
12894 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12895 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12898 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12899 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12900 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12901 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12902 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12903 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12904 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12907 (setq gnus-select-method
12908 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12909 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12914 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12915 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12916 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12917 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
12921 @node Direct Functions
12922 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12923 @cindex direct connection functions
12925 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12926 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12927 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12928 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12931 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12932 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12933 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12936 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12937 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12938 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12939 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12940 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12943 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12944 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12946 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12947 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12948 (nntp-port-number )
12949 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12952 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12953 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12954 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12955 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12956 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12957 then define a server as follows:
12960 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12961 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12963 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12964 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12965 (nntp-port-number 563)
12966 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12969 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12970 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12971 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12972 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12973 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12974 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12975 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12976 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12980 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12981 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12982 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12985 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12986 session, which is not a good idea.
12990 @node Indirect Functions
12991 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12992 @cindex indirect connection functions
12994 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12995 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12996 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12997 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12998 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12999 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13002 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13003 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13004 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
13005 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13006 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13008 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13011 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13012 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13013 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13014 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13016 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13017 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13018 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13019 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13020 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13021 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
13022 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13023 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13027 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13028 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13030 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13031 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13032 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{netcat}
13033 (@uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/}) instead of @samp{telnet} to
13034 connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13036 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13039 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
13040 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
13041 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13042 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
13043 programs like @samp{connect}
13044 (@uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html}) instead.
13046 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
13047 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
13048 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13049 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
13051 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13052 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13053 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13055 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13056 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13057 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
13060 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13061 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13062 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13063 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13065 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13068 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13069 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13070 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13073 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13074 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13075 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13076 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13078 @item nntp-via-user-password
13079 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13080 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13082 @item nntp-via-envuser
13083 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13084 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13085 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13086 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13088 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13089 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13090 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13091 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13095 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13096 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13100 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13105 @item nntp-via-user-name
13106 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13107 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13109 @item nntp-via-address
13110 @vindex nntp-via-address
13111 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13116 @node Common Variables
13117 @subsubsection Common Variables
13119 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13120 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13121 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13122 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13123 variables individually).
13127 @item nntp-pre-command
13128 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13129 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13130 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13131 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13132 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13135 @vindex nntp-address
13136 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13138 @item nntp-port-number
13139 @vindex nntp-port-number
13140 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13141 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13142 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13143 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13144 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13145 not work with named ports.
13147 @item nntp-end-of-line
13148 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13149 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13150 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13151 using a non native telnet connection function.
13153 @item nntp-telnet-command
13154 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13155 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13156 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13157 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13160 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13161 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13162 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13168 @subsubsection NNTP marks
13169 @cindex storing NNTP marks
13171 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
13172 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
13173 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
13174 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
13175 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
13176 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
13177 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
13178 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
13180 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
13181 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
13182 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
13183 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
13184 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13186 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
13187 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
13188 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
13189 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
13190 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
13191 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
13192 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
13194 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
13195 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
13196 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13202 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
13203 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
13204 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
13205 default is @code{nil}.
13207 @item nntp-marks-directory
13208 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
13209 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
13215 @subsection News Spool
13219 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13220 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13221 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13224 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13225 anything else) as the address.
13227 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13228 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13229 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13230 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13234 @item nnspool-inews-program
13235 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13236 Program used to post an article.
13238 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13239 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13240 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13242 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13243 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13244 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13245 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13247 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13248 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13249 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13250 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13252 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13253 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13254 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13256 @item nnspool-active-file
13257 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13258 The name of the active file.
13260 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13261 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13262 The name of the group descriptions file.
13264 @item nnspool-history-file
13265 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13266 The name of the news history file.
13268 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13269 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13270 The name of the active date file.
13272 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13273 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13274 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13277 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13278 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13280 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13281 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13282 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13289 @section Getting Mail
13290 @cindex reading mail
13293 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13297 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13298 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13299 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13300 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13301 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13302 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13303 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13304 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13305 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13306 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13307 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13308 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13309 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13313 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13314 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13316 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13317 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13318 of a culture shock.
13320 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13321 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13323 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13324 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13325 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13326 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13328 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13330 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13331 deleted? How awful!
13333 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13334 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13335 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13336 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13339 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13340 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13341 they want to treat a message.
13343 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13344 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13345 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13346 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13347 archived somewhere else.
13349 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13350 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13351 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13352 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13353 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13355 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13356 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13357 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13359 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13360 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13363 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13364 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13365 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13366 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13367 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13369 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13370 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13371 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13372 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13373 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13374 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13378 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13379 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13381 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13382 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13383 and things will happen automatically.
13385 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13386 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13389 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13392 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13393 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13394 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13395 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13396 like any other group.
13398 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13401 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13402 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13403 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13407 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13408 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13409 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13412 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13413 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13414 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13417 @node Splitting Mail
13418 @subsection Splitting Mail
13419 @cindex splitting mail
13420 @cindex mail splitting
13421 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13423 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13424 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13425 to be split into groups.
13428 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13429 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13430 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13431 ("mail.other" "")))
13434 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13435 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13436 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13437 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13438 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13439 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13440 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13443 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13447 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13448 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13450 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13451 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13452 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13453 mail belongs in that group.
13455 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
13456 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13457 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
13458 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13459 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
13460 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
13461 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
13462 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
13463 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
13464 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
13466 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13467 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13468 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13469 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13470 thinks should carry this mail message.
13472 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13473 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13474 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13475 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13477 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13478 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13479 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13480 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13481 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
13483 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13486 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13487 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13488 links. If that's the case for you, set
13489 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13490 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13492 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13493 @findex nnmail-split-history
13494 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13495 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13496 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13497 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13500 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13501 Header lines longer than the value of
13502 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13505 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13506 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13507 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13508 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13509 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13510 charset for decoding. The behavior can be turned off completely by
13511 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13512 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13514 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13515 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13516 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13517 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13518 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13519 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13520 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13521 other kinds of entries.)
13523 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13524 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13525 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13526 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13527 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13528 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13529 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13530 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13531 month's rent money.
13535 @subsection Mail Sources
13537 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13538 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13539 maildir, for instance.
13542 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13543 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13544 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13548 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13549 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13551 @cindex mail server
13554 @cindex mail source
13556 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13557 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13562 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13565 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13566 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13567 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13570 The following mail source types are available:
13574 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13580 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13581 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13582 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13586 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13589 An example file mail source:
13592 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13595 Or using the default file name:
13601 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13602 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13603 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13604 mail spool while moving the mail.
13606 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13610 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13613 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13617 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13620 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13622 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13625 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13629 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13630 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13631 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13632 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13633 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13634 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13635 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13636 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13637 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13638 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13640 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13641 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13642 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13643 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13649 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13653 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13657 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13658 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13659 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13660 predicate are considered.
13664 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13668 An example directory mail source:
13671 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13676 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13682 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13683 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13686 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13687 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13688 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13689 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13690 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13693 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13697 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13698 the user is prompted.
13701 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13702 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13705 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13708 The valid format specifier characters are:
13712 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13713 included in this string.
13716 The name of the server.
13719 The port number of the server.
13722 The user name to use.
13725 The password to use.
13728 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13729 corresponding keywords.
13732 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13733 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13736 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13737 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13740 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13741 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13742 mail should be moved to.
13744 @item :authentication
13745 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13746 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13750 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13751 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13752 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13753 programs and libraries:
13757 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13758 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13759 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13761 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13762 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13767 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13768 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13772 @vindex pop3-movemail
13773 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
13774 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13775 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If the
13776 @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server} is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be
13777 left on the @acronym{POP} server after fetching when using
13778 @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers maintain no state
13779 information between sessions, so what the client believes is there and
13780 what is actually there may not match up. If they do not, then the whole
13781 thing can fall apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
13783 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13784 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13790 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13793 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13794 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13797 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13800 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13804 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13805 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13806 contains exactly one mail.
13812 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13813 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13816 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13817 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13819 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13820 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13821 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13824 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13825 from locking problems).
13829 Two example maildir mail sources:
13832 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13833 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13837 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13842 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13843 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13844 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13845 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13846 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13848 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13849 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13855 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13856 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13859 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13860 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13863 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13867 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13871 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13872 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13873 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13874 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13876 @item :authentication
13877 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13878 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13879 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13880 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13883 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13884 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13885 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13891 The valid format specifier characters are:
13895 The name of the server.
13898 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13901 The port number of the server.
13904 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13905 corresponding keywords.
13908 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13909 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13912 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13913 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13914 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13915 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13916 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13917 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13920 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13921 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13922 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13923 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13926 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13927 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13931 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13934 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13936 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13940 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13941 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13942 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13944 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13945 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13947 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13953 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13954 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13957 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13961 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13965 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13966 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13970 An example webmail source:
13973 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13975 :password "secret")
13980 @item Common Keywords
13981 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13987 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13988 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13993 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13998 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13999 useful when you use local mail and news.
14004 @subsubsection Function Interface
14006 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14007 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14008 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14009 consider the following mail-source setting:
14012 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14013 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14016 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14017 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14018 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14019 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14020 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14022 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14025 @node Mail Source Customization
14026 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14028 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14029 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14033 @item mail-source-crash-box
14034 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14035 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14036 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14038 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14039 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14040 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14041 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14042 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14043 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
14044 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
14045 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
14047 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14048 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14049 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
14050 files. This variable only applies when
14051 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
14053 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
14054 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
14055 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
14057 @item mail-source-directory
14058 @vindex mail-source-directory
14059 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
14060 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
14061 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
14062 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
14064 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14065 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14066 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
14067 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
14068 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
14069 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
14072 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
14073 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
14074 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
14076 @item mail-source-movemail-program
14077 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
14078 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
14079 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
14084 @node Fetching Mail
14085 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
14087 @vindex mail-sources
14088 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
14089 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
14090 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
14091 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
14093 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
14094 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
14097 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
14098 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
14103 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14104 :password "secret")))
14107 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
14111 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
14112 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14115 :password "secret")))
14119 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
14120 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
14121 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
14122 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
14123 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
14124 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
14128 @node Mail Back End Variables
14129 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
14131 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
14135 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14136 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14137 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
14138 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
14140 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
14141 @item nnmail-split-hook
14142 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14143 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14144 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14145 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14146 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14147 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14148 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14149 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14150 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14153 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14154 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14155 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14156 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14157 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14158 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14159 starting to handle the new mail) and
14160 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14161 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14162 default file modes the new mail files get:
14165 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14166 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14168 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14169 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14172 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14173 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14174 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14175 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14176 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14177 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14178 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14180 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14181 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14182 @findex delete-file
14183 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14185 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14186 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14187 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14188 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14189 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14191 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14192 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14193 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14194 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14195 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14197 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14198 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14199 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14204 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14205 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14206 @cindex mail splitting
14207 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14209 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14210 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14211 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14212 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14213 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14214 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14216 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14219 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14220 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14221 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14222 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14224 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14225 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14226 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14227 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14228 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14229 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14230 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14231 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14232 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14233 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14234 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14235 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14236 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14237 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14238 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14239 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14240 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14244 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14245 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14246 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14251 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14252 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14254 @c Don't fold this line.
14255 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
14256 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
14257 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
14258 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
14261 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
14262 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
14263 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
14264 @var{split} is processed.
14266 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
14267 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
14268 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
14269 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14271 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14272 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14273 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14274 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14275 stored in one or more groups.
14277 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14278 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14279 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14282 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14283 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14285 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14286 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14287 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14288 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14291 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14292 body of the messages:
14295 (defun split-on-body ()
14299 (goto-char (point-min))
14300 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14304 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14305 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14306 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14307 above. Also note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will
14308 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14309 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14310 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14312 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14313 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14314 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14315 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14316 should return a split.
14319 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14323 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14325 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
14326 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
14327 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
14328 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
14332 (any "joe" "joemail")
14336 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
14337 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
14338 of the following three ways:
14342 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14343 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
14344 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
14345 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
14346 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
14349 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
14352 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
14353 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
14354 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
14355 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
14356 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
14359 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
14360 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
14361 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
14362 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14363 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
14364 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14365 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14368 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14369 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14370 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14371 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14372 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14373 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14374 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14378 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14380 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14381 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14383 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14386 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14387 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14388 when all this splitting is performed.
14390 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14391 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14392 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14395 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14398 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14399 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14401 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14402 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14403 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14404 groupings 1 through 9.
14406 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14407 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14408 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14409 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14410 groups when users send to an address using different case
14411 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14414 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14415 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14416 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14417 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14418 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14419 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14420 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14421 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14422 it once per thread.
14424 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14425 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14426 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14427 using the colon feature, like so:
14429 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14430 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14432 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14433 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14437 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14438 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14439 in the file specified by the variable
14440 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14441 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14442 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14443 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14444 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14445 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14446 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14447 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14448 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14449 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14450 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14451 300 kBytes in size.)
14452 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14453 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14454 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14455 messages goes into the new group.
14457 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14458 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14459 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14460 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14461 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14462 ``outgoing'' group.
14465 @node Group Mail Splitting
14466 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14467 @cindex mail splitting
14468 @cindex group mail splitting
14470 @findex gnus-group-split
14471 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14472 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14473 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14474 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14475 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14476 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14477 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14478 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14480 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14481 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14482 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14483 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14485 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14486 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14487 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14488 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14489 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14490 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14491 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14493 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14494 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14495 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14496 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14497 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14498 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14499 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14501 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14502 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14503 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14504 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14505 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14506 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14507 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14508 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14509 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14510 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14511 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14512 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14513 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14515 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14520 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14521 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14523 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14524 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14525 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14526 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14528 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14531 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14532 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14533 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14536 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14537 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14538 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14542 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14543 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14544 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14548 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14551 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14552 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14553 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14554 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14555 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14556 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14557 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14558 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14559 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14561 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14562 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14563 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14564 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14565 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14566 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14567 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14568 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14569 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14571 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14572 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14573 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14574 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14575 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14576 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14579 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14582 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14583 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14584 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14585 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14586 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14589 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14590 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14591 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14592 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14594 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14595 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14596 @cindex incorporating old mail
14597 @cindex import old mail
14599 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14600 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14601 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14604 Doing so can be quite easy.
14606 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14607 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14608 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14609 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14610 your @code{nnml} groups.
14616 Go to the group buffer.
14619 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14620 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14623 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14626 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14627 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14630 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14631 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14634 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14635 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14636 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14637 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14638 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14640 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14641 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14642 using the new mail back end.
14645 @node Expiring Mail
14646 @subsection Expiring Mail
14647 @cindex article expiry
14649 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14650 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14651 different approach to mail reading.
14653 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14654 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14655 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14656 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14657 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14658 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14661 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14662 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14663 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14664 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14665 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14666 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14667 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14668 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14669 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14671 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14672 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14673 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14674 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14675 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14676 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14677 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14680 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14681 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14682 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14683 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14684 into its own group.)
14686 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14687 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14688 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14689 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14690 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14691 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14692 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14693 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14696 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14697 Groups that match the regular expression
14698 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14699 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14700 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14702 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14703 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14704 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14705 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14706 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14708 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14710 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14711 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14712 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14715 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14716 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14717 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14718 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14719 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14721 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14722 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14725 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14726 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14729 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14730 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14732 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14733 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14734 don't really mix very well.
14736 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14737 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14738 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14739 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14742 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14743 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14744 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14745 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14748 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14750 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14752 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14754 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14756 ((string= group "important")
14762 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14763 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14765 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14766 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14767 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14770 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14771 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14773 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14774 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14775 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14776 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14777 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14778 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14779 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14780 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14781 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14782 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14783 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14784 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14785 name or @code{delete}.
14787 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14789 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14792 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14793 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14794 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14795 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14796 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14799 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14800 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14801 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14802 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14803 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14806 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14807 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14808 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14809 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14810 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14811 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14813 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14814 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14815 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14816 easier for procmail users.
14818 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14819 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14820 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14821 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14822 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14823 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14824 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14825 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14826 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14827 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14828 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14829 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14830 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14833 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14835 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14836 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14837 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14838 auto-expire turned on.
14842 @subsection Washing Mail
14843 @cindex mail washing
14844 @cindex list server brain damage
14845 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14847 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14848 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14849 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14850 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14851 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14852 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14854 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14855 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14856 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14859 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14860 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14861 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14862 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14865 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14866 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14867 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14868 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14869 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14872 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14873 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14874 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14875 Emacs running on MS machines.
14879 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14880 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14881 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14882 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14885 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14886 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14887 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14888 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14890 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14891 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14892 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14893 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14894 into a feature by documenting it.)
14896 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14897 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14898 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14899 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14900 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14901 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14902 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14905 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14906 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14909 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14910 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14913 This can also be done non-destructively with
14914 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14916 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14917 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14918 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14920 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14921 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14923 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14924 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14925 @code{References} headers.
14929 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14930 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14931 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14935 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14936 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14937 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14944 @subsection Duplicates
14946 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14947 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14948 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14949 @cindex duplicate mails
14950 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14951 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14952 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14953 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14954 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14955 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14956 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14957 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14958 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14959 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14960 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14961 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14962 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14964 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14965 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14966 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14967 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14969 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14972 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14973 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14977 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14978 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14979 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14980 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14981 (any mail "mail.misc")
14982 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14988 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14989 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14990 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14994 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14995 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14996 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14997 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14998 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15001 @node Not Reading Mail
15002 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15004 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15005 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15006 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15008 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15009 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15010 mail, which should help.
15012 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15013 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15014 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15015 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15016 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15017 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
15018 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
15019 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
15020 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
15021 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
15022 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
15024 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
15025 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
15029 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
15030 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
15032 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
15033 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
15034 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
15036 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
15037 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
15038 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
15042 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
15043 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
15044 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
15045 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
15046 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
15047 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
15048 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
15052 @node Unix Mail Box
15053 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
15055 @cindex unix mail box
15057 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15058 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15059 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
15060 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
15061 which group it belongs in.
15063 Virtual server settings:
15066 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
15067 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15068 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
15071 @item nnmbox-active-file
15072 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15073 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
15074 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
15076 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
15077 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15078 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
15079 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
15084 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
15088 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15089 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15090 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
15091 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
15092 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
15094 Virtual server settings:
15097 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
15098 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15099 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
15101 @item nnbabyl-active-file
15102 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15103 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
15104 @file{~/.rmail-active}
15106 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15107 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15108 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
15114 @subsubsection Mail Spool
15116 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
15118 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
15119 format. It should be used with some caution.
15121 @vindex nnml-directory
15122 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
15123 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
15124 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
15125 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
15127 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
15130 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
15131 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
15132 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
15133 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
15134 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
15135 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
15136 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
15137 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
15139 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
15140 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
15141 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
15142 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
15144 @cindex self contained nnml servers
15146 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
15147 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15148 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15149 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
15150 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
15151 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
15152 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
15153 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
15156 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
15157 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
15158 them next time it starts.
15160 Virtual server settings:
15163 @item nnml-directory
15164 @vindex nnml-directory
15165 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
15166 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
15169 @item nnml-active-file
15170 @vindex nnml-active-file
15171 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15172 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15174 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15175 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15176 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15177 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15179 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15180 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15181 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15184 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15185 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15186 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15187 default is @code{nil}.
15189 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15190 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15191 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15193 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15194 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15195 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15197 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15198 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15199 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15200 default is @code{nil}.
15202 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15203 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15204 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15206 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15207 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15208 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15209 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
15210 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
15211 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
15212 as the file extension specifying the comression program. You can set it
15213 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
15214 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
15216 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15217 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15218 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
15219 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
15220 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
15224 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15225 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15226 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15227 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15228 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15229 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15230 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15235 @subsubsection MH Spool
15237 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15239 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15240 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15241 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15242 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15245 Virtual server settings:
15248 @item nnmh-directory
15249 @vindex nnmh-directory
15250 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15251 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15254 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15255 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15256 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15260 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15261 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15262 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15263 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15264 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15265 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15266 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15271 @subsubsection Maildir
15275 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15276 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15277 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15278 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15279 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15282 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15283 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15284 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15285 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15286 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15287 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15288 that appear as group in Gnus.
15290 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15291 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15292 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15294 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15295 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15296 another, and you will keep your marks.
15298 Virtual server settings:
15302 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15303 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15304 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15305 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15306 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15307 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15308 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15309 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15310 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15311 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15313 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15314 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15315 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15316 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15317 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15318 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15319 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15320 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15321 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15322 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15325 @item target-prefix
15326 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15327 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15328 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15331 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15332 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15333 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15334 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15335 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15336 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15337 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15338 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15339 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15341 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15342 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15343 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15344 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15345 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15347 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15348 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15349 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15350 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15351 @code{force} argument.
15353 @item directory-files
15354 This should be a function with the same interface as
15355 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15356 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15357 parameter is optional; the default is
15358 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15359 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15360 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15361 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15362 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15363 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15366 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15367 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15368 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15369 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15370 value is @code{nil}.
15372 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15373 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15374 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15375 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15376 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15379 @subsubsection Group parameters
15381 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15382 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15383 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15384 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15385 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15386 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15389 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15390 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15391 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15392 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15393 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15394 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15395 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15396 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15397 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15401 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15402 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15403 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15404 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15405 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
15406 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
15407 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
15408 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15409 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15410 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15411 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15412 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15413 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15416 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15418 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15420 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15421 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15422 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15423 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15424 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15425 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15426 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15427 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15428 article. So that form can refer to
15429 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15430 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
15431 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15432 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15435 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15436 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15437 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15438 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15439 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15440 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15441 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15442 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15443 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15444 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15445 contain extra copies of the articles.
15447 @item directory-files
15448 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15449 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15450 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15451 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15453 @item distrust-Lines:
15454 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15455 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15456 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15459 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15460 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15461 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15462 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15463 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15464 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15467 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15468 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15469 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15470 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15471 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15472 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15473 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15475 @item nov-cache-size
15476 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15477 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15478 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15479 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15480 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15481 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15482 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15483 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15484 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15485 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15486 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15489 @subsubsection Article identification
15490 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15491 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15492 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15493 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15494 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15495 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15496 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15497 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15498 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15499 request the article in the summary buffer.
15501 @subsubsection NOV data
15502 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15503 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15504 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15505 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15506 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15507 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15508 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15509 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15510 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15511 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15512 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15514 @subsubsection Article marks
15515 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15516 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15517 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15518 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15519 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15520 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15521 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15522 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15524 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15525 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15526 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15527 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15528 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15529 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15530 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15531 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15532 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15536 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15538 @cindex mbox folders
15539 @cindex mail folders
15541 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15542 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15543 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15544 numbers and arrival dates.
15546 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15548 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15549 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15550 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15551 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15552 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15553 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15554 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15555 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15556 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15557 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15559 Virtual server settings:
15562 @item nnfolder-directory
15563 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15564 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15565 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15566 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15568 @item nnfolder-active-file
15569 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15570 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15572 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15573 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15574 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15575 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15577 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15578 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15579 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15580 default is @code{t}
15582 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15583 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15584 @cindex backup files
15585 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15586 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15587 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15588 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15591 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15592 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15594 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15597 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15598 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15599 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15600 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15601 extract some information from it before removing it.
15603 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15604 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15605 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15606 default is @code{nil}.
15608 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15609 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15610 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15612 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15613 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15614 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15615 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15617 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15618 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15619 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15620 default is @code{nil}.
15622 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15623 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15624 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15626 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15627 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15628 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15629 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15634 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15635 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15636 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15637 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15638 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15639 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15642 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15643 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15645 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15646 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15647 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15648 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15649 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15651 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15652 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15653 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15654 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15655 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15656 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15657 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15658 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15661 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15662 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15663 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15664 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15669 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15670 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15671 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15672 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15673 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15674 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15675 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15676 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15677 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15678 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15679 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15680 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15681 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15686 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15687 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15688 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15689 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15690 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15691 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15692 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15693 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15694 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15695 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15696 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15697 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15698 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15699 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15701 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15702 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15707 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15708 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15709 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15710 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15711 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15712 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15713 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15714 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15715 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15716 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15717 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15718 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15719 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15720 provided by the active file and overviews.
15722 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15723 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15724 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15725 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15726 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15729 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15730 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15735 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15736 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15737 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15738 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15739 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15740 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15741 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15745 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15746 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15747 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15748 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15749 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15750 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15751 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15752 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15753 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15755 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15756 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15757 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15758 friendly mail back end all over.
15762 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15763 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15766 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15767 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15768 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15769 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15770 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15771 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15772 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15773 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15776 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15777 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15778 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15779 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15780 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15781 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15782 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15783 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15784 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15785 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15786 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15788 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15789 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15790 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15791 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15792 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15795 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15796 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15797 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15798 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15799 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15800 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15801 removed in the future.
15803 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15804 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15805 on your file system.
15807 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15808 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15813 @node Browsing the Web
15814 @section Browsing the Web
15816 @cindex browsing the web
15820 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15821 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15822 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15823 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15824 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15825 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15826 even know what a news group is.
15828 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15829 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15830 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15831 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15832 you mad in the end.
15834 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15837 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15838 interfaces to these sources.
15842 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15843 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15844 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15845 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15846 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15847 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
15850 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
15851 alternatives to work.
15853 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15854 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15855 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15856 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15857 though, you should be ok.
15859 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15860 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15861 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15862 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15863 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15865 @node Archiving Mail
15866 @subsection Archiving Mail
15867 @cindex archiving mail
15868 @cindex backup of mail
15870 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15871 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15872 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15873 marks is fairly simple.
15875 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15876 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15879 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15880 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15881 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15882 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15883 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15884 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15885 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15886 before you restore the data.
15888 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15889 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15890 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15891 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15892 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15893 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15894 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15895 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15896 is unnecessary in that case.
15899 @subsection Web Searches
15904 @cindex Usenet searches
15905 @cindex searching the Usenet
15907 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15908 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15909 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15910 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15911 searches without having to use a browser.
15913 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15914 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15915 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15916 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15917 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15919 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15920 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15921 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15922 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15923 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15924 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15925 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15926 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15927 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15928 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15931 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15932 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15933 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
15934 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15935 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15936 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15938 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
15939 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
15940 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
15942 Virtual server variables:
15947 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15948 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15949 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15952 @vindex nnweb-search
15953 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15955 @item nnweb-max-hits
15956 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15957 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15960 @item nnweb-type-definition
15961 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15962 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15963 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15968 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15972 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15975 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15978 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15982 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15989 @subsection Slashdot
15993 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15994 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15995 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15997 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15998 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16001 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16002 '((nnslashdot "")))
16005 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
16006 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
16007 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
16008 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
16009 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
16012 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
16013 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16015 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
16016 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
16017 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
16018 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
16019 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
16020 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
16021 @acronym{HTML} forms.
16023 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
16026 @item nnslashdot-threaded
16027 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
16028 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
16029 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
16030 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
16031 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
16032 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
16034 @item nnslashdot-login-name
16035 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
16036 The login name to use when posting.
16038 @item nnslashdot-password
16039 @vindex nnslashdot-password
16040 The password to use when posting.
16042 @item nnslashdot-directory
16043 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
16044 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
16045 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
16047 @item nnslashdot-active-url
16048 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
16049 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
16050 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
16051 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
16053 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
16054 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
16055 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
16057 @item nnslashdot-article-url
16058 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
16059 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
16060 article. The default is
16061 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
16063 @item nnslashdot-threshold
16064 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
16065 The score threshold. The default is -1.
16067 @item nnslashdot-group-number
16068 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
16069 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
16070 updated. The default is 0.
16077 @subsection Ultimate
16079 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
16081 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
16082 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
16083 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
16084 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16086 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
16087 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
16088 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
16089 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
16090 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
16091 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
16092 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
16094 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
16097 @item nnultimate-directory
16098 @vindex nnultimate-directory
16099 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
16100 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
16105 @subsection Web Archive
16107 @cindex Web Archive
16109 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
16110 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
16111 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
16112 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
16115 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
16116 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
16117 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
16118 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
16119 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
16120 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
16121 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
16122 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
16124 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
16127 @item nnwarchive-directory
16128 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
16129 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
16130 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
16132 @item nnwarchive-login
16133 @vindex nnwarchive-login
16134 The account name on the web server.
16136 @item nnwarchive-passwd
16137 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
16138 The password for your account on the web server.
16146 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16147 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16148 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16149 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16150 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16152 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16153 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16155 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16156 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16157 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16160 @kindex G R (Group)
16161 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16162 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16163 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16164 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16166 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16167 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16168 subscribe to groups.
16170 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16171 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16172 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16173 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16174 variable. If it is @code{nil}, in Emacs the coding system defaults to
16175 the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system}. If you are using
16176 XEmacs and want to use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names, you should set
16177 the value for the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} variable properly.
16179 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
16180 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
16181 and a @samp{text/html} part.
16184 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
16185 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
16188 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
16189 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
16193 @defun nnrss-opml-export
16194 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
16195 @acronym{OPML} format.
16198 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
16201 @item nnrss-directory
16202 @vindex nnrss-directory
16203 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
16204 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16206 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
16207 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
16208 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
16209 data files. The default is the value of
16210 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
16211 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
16213 @item nnrss-use-local
16214 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16215 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16216 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16217 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16218 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16219 download script using @command{wget}.
16221 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
16222 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
16223 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
16224 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
16225 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
16226 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
16227 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
16228 @samp{text/html} parts.
16231 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16232 the summary buffer.
16235 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16236 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16238 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16240 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16241 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16244 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16248 (require 'browse-url)
16250 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16252 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16255 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16256 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16259 (browse-url (cdr url))
16260 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16261 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16263 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16264 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16265 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16266 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16269 Even if you have added @code{"text/html"} to the
16270 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
16271 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
16272 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
16273 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
16274 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
16275 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
16276 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
16277 @code{nnrss} groups:
16280 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
16281 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
16283 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
16284 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
16285 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
16287 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
16290 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
16294 @node Customizing W3
16295 @subsection Customizing W3
16301 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
16302 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
16303 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
16306 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
16307 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16308 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16311 (eval-after-load "w3"
16313 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16314 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16315 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16316 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16318 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16321 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
16322 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16329 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16331 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16332 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16333 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16334 specify the network address of the server.
16336 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16337 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16338 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16339 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16340 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16341 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16343 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16344 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16345 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16346 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16348 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16349 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16350 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16351 usage explained in this section.
16353 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16354 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16355 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16359 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16360 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16361 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16363 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16364 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16365 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16367 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16368 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16369 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16370 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16371 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16372 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16373 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16374 (nnimap-stream network))
16375 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16377 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16378 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16379 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16382 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16383 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16384 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16385 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16387 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16392 @item nnimap-address
16393 @vindex nnimap-address
16395 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16396 server name if not specified.
16398 @item nnimap-server-port
16399 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16400 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16402 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16405 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16406 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16409 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16410 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16411 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16412 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16413 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16414 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16415 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16417 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16418 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16419 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16422 Example server specification:
16425 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16426 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16427 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16430 @item nnimap-stream
16431 @vindex nnimap-stream
16432 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16433 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16434 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16435 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16436 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16438 Example server specification:
16441 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16442 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16445 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16449 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16450 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16452 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16454 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16455 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16458 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16459 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16461 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16462 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16464 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16466 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16469 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16470 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16471 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16472 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16473 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16474 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16475 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16476 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16477 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16480 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16481 needed. It is available from
16482 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16484 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16485 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16486 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16487 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16488 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16489 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16490 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16493 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16494 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16495 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16496 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16497 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16498 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16499 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16502 @vindex imap-shell-program
16503 @vindex imap-shell-host
16504 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16505 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16507 @item nnimap-authenticator
16508 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16510 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16511 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16513 Example server specification:
16516 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16517 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16520 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16524 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16525 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16527 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16530 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16531 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16533 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16535 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16537 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16540 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16542 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16543 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16544 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16545 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16546 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16547 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16550 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16551 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16552 running in circles yet?
16554 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16555 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16558 The possible options are:
16563 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16566 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16567 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16568 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16569 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16571 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16576 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16577 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16579 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16580 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16581 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16582 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16583 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16586 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16587 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16590 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16591 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16592 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16593 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16596 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16597 as ticked for other users.
16599 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16601 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16603 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16604 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16605 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16606 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16608 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16609 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16610 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16611 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16613 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16614 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16616 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16617 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16618 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16619 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
16622 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
16625 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
16626 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
16627 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
16628 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
16631 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16632 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16634 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16635 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16641 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16642 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16643 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16644 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16645 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16646 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16651 @node Splitting in IMAP
16652 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16653 @cindex splitting imap mail
16655 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16656 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16657 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16658 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16659 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16663 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16664 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16665 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16667 Here are the variables of interest:
16671 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16672 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16674 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16676 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16677 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16678 found will be used.
16680 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16682 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16683 @cindex splitting, inbox
16685 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16687 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16688 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16689 splitting is disabled!
16692 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16693 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16696 No nnmail equivalent.
16698 @item nnimap-split-rule
16699 @cindex splitting, rules
16700 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16702 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16705 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16706 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16707 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16708 Neither did I, we need examples.
16711 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16713 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16714 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16715 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16718 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16719 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16720 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16722 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16723 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16727 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16730 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16731 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16733 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16734 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16735 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16736 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16738 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16739 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16740 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16741 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16742 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16743 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16745 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16746 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16747 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16749 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16750 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16751 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16753 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16755 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16756 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16757 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16760 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16761 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16762 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16763 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16764 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16765 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16768 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16769 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16770 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16771 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16772 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16773 group/function elements.
16775 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16777 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16779 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16781 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16782 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16784 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16785 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16786 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16789 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16790 @cindex splitting, fancy
16791 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16792 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16794 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16795 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16796 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16798 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16799 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16800 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16801 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16806 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16807 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16810 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16812 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16813 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16814 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16816 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16817 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16818 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16819 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
16823 @node Expiring in IMAP
16824 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16825 @cindex expiring imap mail
16827 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16828 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16829 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16830 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16831 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16832 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16835 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16836 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16837 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16838 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16839 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16840 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16841 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16842 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16846 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16847 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16849 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16850 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16852 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16854 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16855 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16856 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16857 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16861 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16862 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16863 @cindex editing imap acls
16864 @cindex Access Control Lists
16865 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16866 @kindex G l (Group)
16867 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16869 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16870 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16871 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16874 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16875 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16876 editing window with detailed instructions.
16878 Some possible uses:
16882 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16883 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16884 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16886 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16887 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16888 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16892 @node Expunging mailboxes
16893 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16897 @cindex manual expunging
16898 @kindex G x (Group)
16899 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16901 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16902 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16903 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16905 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16908 @node A note on namespaces
16909 @subsection A note on namespaces
16910 @cindex IMAP namespace
16913 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16914 by the following text in the RFC2060:
16917 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16919 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16920 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16921 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16922 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16924 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16925 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16926 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16927 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16928 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16929 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16932 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16933 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16934 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16936 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16937 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16938 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16939 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16940 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16941 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16942 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16943 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16946 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16947 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16948 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16950 @node Debugging IMAP
16951 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16952 @cindex IMAP debugging
16953 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16955 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16956 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16957 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
16958 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16960 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16961 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16962 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16963 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16964 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16965 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16966 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16970 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16971 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16978 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16979 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16980 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16981 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16984 @node Other Sources
16985 @section Other Sources
16987 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16988 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16992 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16993 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16994 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16995 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16996 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17000 @node Directory Groups
17001 @subsection Directory Groups
17003 @cindex directory groups
17005 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17006 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17009 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17010 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17011 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17012 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17014 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17015 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17016 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17017 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17018 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17020 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17022 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17023 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17024 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17025 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17028 @node Anything Groups
17029 @subsection Anything Groups
17032 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17033 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17034 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17037 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17038 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17039 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17040 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17041 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17042 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17043 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17044 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17045 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17046 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17049 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17050 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17051 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17052 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17054 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17055 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17056 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17057 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17059 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17060 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17061 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17062 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17063 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17064 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17065 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17066 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17071 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17072 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17073 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17074 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17076 @item nneething-exclude-files
17077 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17078 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17079 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17081 @item nneething-include-files
17082 @vindex nneething-include-files
17083 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17084 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17086 @item nneething-map-file
17087 @vindex nneething-map-file
17088 Name of the map files.
17092 @node Document Groups
17093 @subsection Document Groups
17095 @cindex documentation group
17098 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17099 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17105 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
17110 The standard Unix mbox file.
17112 @cindex MMDF mail box
17114 The MMDF mail box format.
17117 Several news articles appended into a file.
17119 @cindex rnews batch files
17121 The rnews batch transport format.
17124 Netscape mail boxes.
17127 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17129 @item standard-digest
17130 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17133 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17135 @item lanl-gov-announce
17136 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17138 @cindex forwarded messages
17139 @item rfc822-forward
17140 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17143 The Outlook mail box.
17146 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17149 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17152 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17155 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17161 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17164 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17170 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17171 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17172 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17175 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17176 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17177 group. And that's it.
17179 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17180 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17181 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17182 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17183 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17184 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17185 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17186 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17187 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17188 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17190 Virtual server variables:
17193 @item nndoc-article-type
17194 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17195 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17196 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17197 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17198 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17199 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17201 @item nndoc-post-type
17202 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17203 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17204 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17209 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17213 @node Document Server Internals
17214 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17216 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17217 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17218 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17219 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17221 First, here's an example document type definition:
17225 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17226 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17229 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17230 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17231 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17232 types can be defined with very few settings:
17235 @item first-article
17236 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17237 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17240 @item article-begin
17241 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17242 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17243 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17244 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17246 @item article-begin-function
17247 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17248 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17251 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17252 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17253 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17255 @item head-begin-function
17256 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17257 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17260 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17261 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17264 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17265 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17266 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17268 @item body-begin-function
17269 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17270 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17273 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17274 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17275 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17277 @item body-end-function
17278 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17279 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17282 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17283 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17286 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17287 regexp will be totally ignored.
17291 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17292 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17293 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17294 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17295 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17298 @item prepare-body-function
17299 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17300 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17301 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17303 @item article-transform-function
17304 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17305 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17306 body of the article.
17308 @item generate-head-function
17309 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17310 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17311 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17312 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17314 @item generate-article-function
17315 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17316 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17317 parameter when requesting all articles.
17319 @item dissection-function
17320 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17321 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17322 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17323 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17324 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17325 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17329 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17334 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17335 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17336 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17337 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17338 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17339 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17340 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17341 (subtype digest guess))
17344 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17345 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17346 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17347 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17348 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17350 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17351 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17352 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17353 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17354 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17355 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17356 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17357 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17358 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17359 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17360 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17361 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17369 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17370 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17371 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17373 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17374 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17375 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17378 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17379 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17380 that interested in doing things properly.
17382 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17383 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17386 First some terminology:
17391 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17392 get news and/or mail from.
17395 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17396 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17399 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17403 @item message packets
17404 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17405 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17406 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17408 @item response packets
17409 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17410 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17411 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17421 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17422 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17423 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17424 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17427 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17430 You put the packet in your home directory.
17433 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17434 the native or secondary server.
17437 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17438 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17441 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17445 You transfer this packet to the server.
17448 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17451 You then repeat until you die.
17455 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17456 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17459 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17460 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17461 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17465 @node SOUP Commands
17466 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17468 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17472 @kindex G s b (Group)
17473 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17474 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17475 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17476 process/prefix convention.
17479 @kindex G s w (Group)
17480 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17481 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17484 @kindex G s s (Group)
17485 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17486 Send all replies from the replies packet
17487 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17490 @kindex G s p (Group)
17491 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17492 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17495 @kindex G s r (Group)
17496 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17497 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17500 @kindex O s (Summary)
17501 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17502 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17503 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17504 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17509 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17514 @item gnus-soup-directory
17515 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17516 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17517 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17519 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17520 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17521 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17522 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17524 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17525 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17526 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17527 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17529 @item gnus-soup-packer
17530 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17531 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17532 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17534 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17535 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17536 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17537 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17539 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17540 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17541 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17543 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17544 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17545 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17546 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17552 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17555 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17556 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17557 you can read them at leisure.
17559 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17563 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17564 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17565 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17566 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17568 @item nnsoup-directory
17569 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17570 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17571 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17573 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17574 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17575 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17576 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17578 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17579 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17580 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17581 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17582 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17584 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17585 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17586 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17587 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17589 @item nnsoup-active-file
17590 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17591 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17592 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17593 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17594 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17596 @item nnsoup-packer
17597 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17598 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17599 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17601 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17602 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17603 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17604 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17606 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17607 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17608 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17611 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17612 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17613 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17616 @item nnsoup-always-save
17617 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17618 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17624 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17626 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17627 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17628 more for that to happen.
17630 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17631 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17632 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17635 In specific, this is what it does:
17638 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17639 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17642 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17643 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17644 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17647 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17648 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17649 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17652 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17653 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17654 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17656 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17662 @item nngateway-address
17663 @vindex nngateway-address
17664 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17666 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17667 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17668 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17669 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17670 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17671 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17672 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17675 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17676 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17677 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17680 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17683 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17686 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17689 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17691 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17694 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17695 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17696 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17698 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17700 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17701 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17702 @code{nngateway-address}.
17710 (setq gnus-post-method
17712 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17713 (nngateway-header-transformation
17714 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17717 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17720 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17725 @node Combined Groups
17726 @section Combined Groups
17728 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17732 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17733 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17737 @node Virtual Groups
17738 @subsection Virtual Groups
17740 @cindex virtual groups
17741 @cindex merging groups
17743 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17746 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17747 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17748 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17750 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17751 regexp to match component groups.
17753 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17754 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17755 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17756 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17757 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17758 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17759 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17760 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17762 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17763 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17766 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17769 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17770 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17772 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17773 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17774 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17775 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17778 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17781 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17782 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17783 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17785 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17786 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17787 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17788 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17789 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17791 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17792 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17793 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17795 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17796 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17797 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17798 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17799 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17800 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17801 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17802 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17803 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17804 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17805 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17807 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17808 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17809 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17810 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17811 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17812 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17813 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17815 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17816 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17818 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17819 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17823 @node Kibozed Groups
17824 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17828 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17829 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17830 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17831 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17833 @kindex G k (Group)
17834 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17837 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17838 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17839 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17840 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17842 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17843 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17844 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17846 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17847 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17848 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17849 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17850 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17851 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17852 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17853 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17855 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17856 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17857 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17858 Stranger things have happened.
17860 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17861 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17863 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17864 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17865 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17866 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17867 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17868 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17869 component articles.
17871 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17872 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17875 @node Email Based Diary
17876 @section Email Based Diary
17878 @cindex email based diary
17881 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
17882 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
17883 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
17884 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
17885 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
17886 namely, as event reminders.
17888 Here is a typical scenario:
17892 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
17893 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
17895 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
17897 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
17899 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
17900 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
17901 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
17903 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
17904 of the night you're gonna have.
17906 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
17907 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
17910 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
17911 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
17912 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
17913 explained in the sections below.
17916 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
17917 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
17918 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
17922 @node The NNDiary Back End
17923 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
17925 @cindex the nndiary back end
17927 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
17928 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
17929 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
17930 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
17931 directory per group.
17933 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
17934 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
17935 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
17936 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
17939 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
17940 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
17941 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
17944 @node Diary Messages
17945 @subsubsection Diary Messages
17946 @cindex nndiary messages
17947 @cindex nndiary mails
17949 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
17950 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
17951 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
17952 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
17953 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
17954 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
17955 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
17959 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
17960 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
17961 (separated by a comma).
17963 A field is either an integer, or a range.
17965 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
17967 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
17968 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
17969 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
17971 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
17972 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
17973 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
17975 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
17976 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
17977 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
17978 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
17979 list of available time zone values, see the variable
17980 @code{nndiary-headers}.
17983 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
17984 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
17985 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
17990 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
17993 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
17995 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
17998 @node Running NNDiary
17999 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18000 @cindex running nndiary
18001 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18003 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18004 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18005 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18006 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18007 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18008 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18010 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18011 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18012 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18013 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18014 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18015 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18016 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18019 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18024 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18025 line in your @file{gnusrc} file:
18028 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18031 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18032 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18033 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18034 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18035 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18037 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18038 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18047 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18048 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18050 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18051 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18052 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18053 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18056 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18057 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18058 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18061 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18062 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18063 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18065 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18066 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18067 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18068 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18069 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18071 @node Customizing NNDiary
18072 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18073 @cindex customizing nndiary
18074 @cindex nndiary customization
18076 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18077 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18078 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18079 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18081 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18082 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18083 appointements (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18084 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18085 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18089 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18090 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18095 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18096 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18098 @cindex the gnus diary library
18100 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18101 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18102 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18103 useful things for you.
18105 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{gnusrc} file:
18108 (require 'gnus-diary)
18111 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18112 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18113 (sorry if you used them before).
18117 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18118 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18119 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18120 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18123 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18124 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18125 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18126 @cindex diary summary line format
18128 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18129 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18130 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18131 see the event's date.
18133 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18134 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18135 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18136 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18137 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18139 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18140 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18141 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18144 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18147 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18148 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18151 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18154 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18155 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18156 with the following user options:
18158 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18159 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18160 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18161 diary groups'parameters.
18164 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18165 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18166 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18169 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18170 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18171 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18172 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18173 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18176 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18177 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18178 @cindex diary articles sorting
18179 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18180 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18181 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18182 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18184 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18185 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18186 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18187 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18188 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18190 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18191 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18192 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18193 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18196 @node Diary Headers Generation
18197 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18198 @cindex diary headers generation
18199 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18201 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18202 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18203 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18204 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18207 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18208 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18209 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c D c} in @code{message-mode}
18210 and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the process of converting
18211 a usual mail to a diary one.
18213 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18214 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18215 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18218 @node Diary Group Parameters
18219 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18220 @cindex diary group parameters
18222 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18223 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18224 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18225 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18226 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18227 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18228 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18229 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18231 @node Sending or Not Sending
18232 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18234 Well, assuming you've read of of the above, here are two final notes on
18235 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18239 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18240 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18241 appointements to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18242 sending the diary message to them as well.
18244 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18245 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18246 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18247 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18250 @node Gnus Unplugged
18251 @section Gnus Unplugged
18256 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18258 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18259 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18260 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18261 read news. Believe it or not.
18263 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18264 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18265 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18266 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18267 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18269 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18270 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18271 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18272 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18273 reading news on a machine.
18275 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18276 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18277 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18279 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18282 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18283 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18284 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18285 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18286 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18287 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18288 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18289 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18290 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18291 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18292 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18293 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18294 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18295 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18300 @subsection Agent Basics
18302 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18304 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18305 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18306 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18307 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18309 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18310 connected to the net continuously.
18312 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18313 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18315 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18316 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18317 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18318 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18319 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18321 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18322 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18323 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18324 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18325 they're kinda like plugged always).
18327 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18328 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18329 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18332 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18333 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18334 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18335 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18336 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18338 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18343 @findex gnus-unplugged
18344 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18345 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18346 already fetched while in this mode.
18349 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18350 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18351 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18352 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18353 Source Specifiers}).
18356 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18357 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18358 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18359 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18360 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18363 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18364 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18365 then you read the news offline.
18368 And then you go to step 2.
18371 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18377 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18378 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18379 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18380 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18381 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18382 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18383 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18384 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18387 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18388 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18389 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18390 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18392 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18393 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18394 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18395 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18396 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18397 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18401 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18405 @node Agent Categories
18406 @subsection Agent Categories
18408 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18409 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18410 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18411 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18412 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18413 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18414 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18416 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18417 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18418 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18419 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18420 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18422 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18423 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18424 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18425 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18426 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18429 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18430 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18431 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18432 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18433 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18434 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18438 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18439 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18440 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18444 @node Category Syntax
18445 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18447 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18448 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18449 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18452 @cindex Agent Parameters
18455 The list of groups that are in this category.
18457 @item agent-predicate
18458 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18459 are eligible for downloading; and
18462 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18463 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18464 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18466 @item agent-enable-expiration
18467 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18468 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18469 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18470 only groups that should not be expired.
18472 @item agent-days-until-old
18473 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18474 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18476 @item agent-low-score
18477 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18479 @item agent-high-score
18480 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18482 @item agent-short-article
18483 an integer that overrides the value of
18484 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18486 @item agent-long-article
18487 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18489 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18490 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18491 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18492 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18493 undownloaded faces.
18496 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18499 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18500 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18501 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18504 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18505 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18506 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18507 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18509 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18510 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18511 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18513 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18514 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18515 operators sprinkled in between.
18517 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18519 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18520 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18526 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18527 short (for some value of ``short'').
18529 Here's a more complex predicate:
18538 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18539 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18542 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18543 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18544 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18546 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18547 you want to do, you can write your own.
18549 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18550 bound to the value determined by calling
18551 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18552 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18553 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18554 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18555 predicate to individual groups.
18559 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18560 lines; default 100.
18563 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18564 lines; default 200.
18567 True iff the article has a download score less than
18568 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18571 True iff the article has a download score greater than
18572 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18575 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18576 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18577 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18586 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18587 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18588 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18591 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18592 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18593 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18594 something along the lines of the following:
18597 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18598 "Say whether an article is old."
18599 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18600 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18603 with the predicate then defined as:
18606 (not my-article-old-p)
18609 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18610 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18614 (require 'gnus-agent)
18615 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18616 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18617 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18620 and simply specify your predicate as:
18626 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18627 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18628 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18629 just don't give a damn.
18631 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18632 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18633 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18634 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18635 parameters like so:
18638 (agent-predicate . short)
18641 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18642 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18643 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18645 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18648 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18651 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18652 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18653 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18656 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18657 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18658 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18659 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18660 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18661 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18663 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18664 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18665 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18666 if it's to be specific to that group.
18668 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18675 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18676 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18682 Category specification
18686 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18692 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18695 (agent-score ("from"
18696 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18701 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18707 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18708 keywords stated above.
18714 Category specification
18717 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18723 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18727 Group Parameter specification
18730 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18733 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18738 Use @code{normal} score files
18740 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18741 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18742 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18743 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18745 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18746 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18747 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18748 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18752 Category Specification
18759 Group Parameter specification
18762 (agent-score . file)
18767 @node Category Buffer
18768 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18770 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18771 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18772 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18774 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18778 @kindex q (Category)
18779 @findex gnus-category-exit
18780 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18783 @kindex e (Category)
18784 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18785 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18786 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18789 @kindex k (Category)
18790 @findex gnus-category-kill
18791 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18794 @kindex c (Category)
18795 @findex gnus-category-copy
18796 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18799 @kindex a (Category)
18800 @findex gnus-category-add
18801 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18804 @kindex p (Category)
18805 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18806 Edit the predicate of the current category
18807 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18810 @kindex g (Category)
18811 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18812 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18813 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18816 @kindex s (Category)
18817 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18818 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18819 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18822 @kindex l (Category)
18823 @findex gnus-category-list
18824 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18828 @node Category Variables
18829 @subsubsection Category Variables
18832 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18833 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18834 Hook run in category buffers.
18836 @item gnus-category-line-format
18837 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18838 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18839 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18843 The name of the category.
18846 The number of groups in the category.
18849 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18850 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18851 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18853 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18854 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18855 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18857 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18858 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18859 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18861 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18862 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18863 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18866 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18867 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18868 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18871 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18872 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18873 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18874 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18875 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18876 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18877 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18878 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18882 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18883 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18884 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18885 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18886 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18887 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18888 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18893 @node Agent Commands
18894 @subsection Agent Commands
18895 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18896 @kindex J j (Agent)
18898 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18899 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18900 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18904 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18905 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18906 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18912 @node Group Agent Commands
18913 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18917 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18918 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18919 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18920 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18923 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18924 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18925 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18928 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18929 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18930 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18931 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18934 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18935 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18936 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18937 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18940 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18941 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18942 Add the current group to an Agent category
18943 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18944 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18947 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18948 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18949 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18950 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18951 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18954 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18955 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18956 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18962 @node Summary Agent Commands
18963 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18967 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18968 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18969 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18972 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18973 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18974 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18975 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18979 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18980 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18981 Toggle whether to download the article
18982 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18986 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18987 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18988 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18991 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18992 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18993 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18994 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18997 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18998 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
18999 Download all processable articles in this group.
19000 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19003 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19004 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19005 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19006 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19011 @node Server Agent Commands
19012 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19016 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19017 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19018 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19019 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19022 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19023 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19024 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19025 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19030 @node Agent Visuals
19031 @subsection Agent Visuals
19033 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19034 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19035 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19036 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19037 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19038 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19039 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19040 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19041 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19042 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19044 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19045 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19046 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19047 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19048 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19049 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19050 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19051 articles will be available when unplugged.
19053 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19054 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19055 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19056 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19057 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19058 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19059 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19060 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19062 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19063 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19064 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19065 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19066 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19067 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19068 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19069 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19070 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19072 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19073 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19074 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19075 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19076 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19077 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19078 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19079 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19080 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19081 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19083 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19084 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19085 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19086 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19087 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19088 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19090 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19091 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19092 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19093 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19094 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19095 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19096 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19097 expiring'' articles.
19099 @node Agent as Cache
19100 @subsection Agent as Cache
19102 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19103 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19104 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19105 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19106 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19107 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19108 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19109 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19110 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19112 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19113 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19114 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19115 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19116 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19119 @subsection Agent Expiry
19121 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19122 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19123 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19124 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19125 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19126 @cindex agent expiry
19127 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19130 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19131 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19132 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19133 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19134 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19135 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19136 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19137 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19139 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19140 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19141 synchronized with the group.
19143 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19144 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19146 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19147 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19148 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19149 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19150 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19151 be kept indefinitely.
19153 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19154 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19155 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19156 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19158 @node Agent Regeneration
19159 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19161 @cindex agent regeneration
19162 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19163 @cindex regeneration
19165 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19166 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19167 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19168 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19169 internal inconsistencies.
19171 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19172 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19173 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19174 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19175 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19176 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19178 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19179 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19180 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19181 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19182 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19183 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19185 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19186 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19187 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19188 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19189 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19190 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19193 @node Agent and flags
19194 @subsection Agent and flags
19196 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19197 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19198 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19199 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19200 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19201 to the flags in its own files.
19203 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19204 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19205 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19207 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19208 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19209 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19210 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19211 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19212 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19214 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19215 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19216 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19217 in the group buffer.
19219 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19220 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19221 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19222 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19223 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19224 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19225 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19226 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19228 @node Agent and IMAP
19229 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19231 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19232 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19233 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19234 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19236 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19237 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19242 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19245 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19249 @node Outgoing Messages
19250 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19252 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19253 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19254 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19256 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19257 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19258 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19260 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19261 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19262 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19263 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19266 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19267 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19268 ask you to confirm your action (see
19269 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19271 @node Agent Variables
19272 @subsection Agent Variables
19277 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19278 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19279 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19280 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19282 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19283 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19286 @item gnus-agent-directory
19287 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19288 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19289 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19291 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19292 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19293 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19294 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19295 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19298 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19299 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19300 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19302 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19303 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19304 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19306 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19307 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19308 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19310 @item gnus-agent-cache
19311 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19312 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19313 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19314 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19316 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19317 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19318 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19319 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19320 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19321 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19322 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19325 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19326 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19327 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19328 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19329 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19330 read. The default is @code{t}.
19332 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19333 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19334 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19335 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19336 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19337 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19338 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19340 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19341 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19342 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19343 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19344 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19345 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19346 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19347 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19348 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19349 over and over again.
19351 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19352 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19353 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19354 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19355 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19356 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19357 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19358 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19359 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19360 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19361 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19362 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19365 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19366 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19367 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19368 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19369 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19370 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19371 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19372 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19373 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19375 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19376 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19377 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19378 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19379 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19380 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19382 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19383 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19384 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19385 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19386 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19388 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19389 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19390 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19391 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19392 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19393 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19395 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19396 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19397 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19398 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19399 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19401 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19402 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19403 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19404 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19405 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19406 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19407 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19408 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19409 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19410 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19411 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19416 @node Example Setup
19417 @subsection Example Setup
19419 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19420 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19421 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19424 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19425 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19426 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19428 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19429 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19430 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19432 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19433 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19435 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19436 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19437 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19440 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19441 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19444 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19445 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19446 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19447 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19448 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19451 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19452 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19453 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19454 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19455 back all the killed groups.)
19457 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19458 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19459 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19462 @node Batching Agents
19463 @subsection Batching Agents
19464 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19466 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19467 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19468 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19470 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19471 following incantation:
19475 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19479 @node Agent Caveats
19480 @subsection Agent Caveats
19482 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19483 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19487 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19489 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19490 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19491 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19493 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19494 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19496 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19500 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19501 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19502 locally stored articles.
19509 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19510 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19511 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19514 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19515 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19516 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19517 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19518 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19520 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19521 before generating the summary buffer.
19523 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19524 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19525 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19527 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19528 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19529 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19530 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19533 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19534 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19535 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19536 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19537 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19538 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19539 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19540 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19541 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19542 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19543 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19544 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19545 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19546 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19547 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19548 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19552 @node Summary Score Commands
19553 @section Summary Score Commands
19554 @cindex score commands
19556 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19557 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19558 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19559 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19560 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19562 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19563 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19564 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19565 score file the current one.
19567 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19572 @kindex V s (Summary)
19573 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19574 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19577 @kindex V S (Summary)
19578 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19579 Display the score of the current article
19580 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19583 @kindex V t (Summary)
19584 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19585 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19586 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19587 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19588 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19589 score file and edit it.
19592 @kindex V w (Summary)
19593 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19594 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19597 @kindex V R (Summary)
19598 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19599 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19600 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19601 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19602 effect you're having.
19605 @kindex V c (Summary)
19606 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19607 Make a different score file the current
19608 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19611 @kindex V e (Summary)
19612 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19613 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19614 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19618 @kindex V f (Summary)
19619 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19620 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19621 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19624 @kindex V F (Summary)
19625 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19626 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19627 after editing score files.
19630 @kindex V C (Summary)
19631 @findex gnus-score-customize
19632 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19633 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19637 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19642 @kindex V m (Summary)
19643 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19644 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19645 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19648 @kindex V x (Summary)
19649 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19650 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19651 expunge all articles below this score
19652 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19655 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19656 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19659 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19660 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19664 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19665 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19667 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19668 keys are available:
19672 Score on the author name.
19675 Score on the subject line.
19678 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19681 Score on the @code{References} line.
19687 Score on the number of lines.
19690 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19693 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19694 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19697 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19698 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19699 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19708 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19714 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19715 what headers you are scoring on.
19727 Substring matching.
19730 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19759 Greater than number.
19764 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19765 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19766 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19771 Temporary score entry.
19774 Permanent score entry.
19777 Immediately scoring.
19781 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19782 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19783 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19787 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19788 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19789 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19790 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19792 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19793 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19794 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19795 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19796 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19798 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19799 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19800 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19801 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19802 current score file.
19804 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19805 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19806 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19809 @node Group Score Commands
19810 @section Group Score Commands
19811 @cindex group score commands
19813 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19818 @kindex W e (Group)
19819 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19820 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19821 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19824 @kindex W f (Group)
19825 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19826 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19827 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19828 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19832 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19834 @findex gnus-batch-score
19835 @cindex batch scoring
19837 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19841 @node Score Variables
19842 @section Score Variables
19843 @cindex score variables
19847 @item gnus-use-scoring
19848 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19849 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19850 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19852 @item gnus-kill-killed
19853 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19854 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19855 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19856 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19857 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19858 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19859 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19861 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19862 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19863 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19864 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19865 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19867 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19868 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19869 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19870 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19872 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19873 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19874 @cindex score cache
19875 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19876 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
19877 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19878 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19879 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19880 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19881 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19884 @item gnus-save-score
19885 @vindex gnus-save-score
19886 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19887 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19888 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19890 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19891 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19892 across group visits.
19894 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19895 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19896 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19897 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19898 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19899 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19900 manually entered data.
19902 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19903 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19904 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19906 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19907 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19908 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19909 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19910 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19911 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19913 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19914 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19915 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19916 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19918 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19919 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19920 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19921 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19923 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19924 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19925 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19926 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19928 Predefined functions available are:
19931 @item gnus-score-find-single
19932 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19933 Only apply the group's own score file.
19935 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19936 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19937 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19938 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19939 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19940 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19941 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19942 then a regexp match is done.
19944 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19945 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19947 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19948 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19949 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19950 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19952 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19953 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19954 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19955 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19956 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19960 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19961 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19962 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19963 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19964 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19965 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19966 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19969 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19970 overall score file, you could use the value
19972 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19973 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19976 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19977 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19978 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19979 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19980 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19982 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19983 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19984 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19985 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19986 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19987 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19988 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19989 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19991 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19992 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19993 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19995 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19996 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19997 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19998 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19999 threading---according to the current value of
20000 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20001 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20002 simplified in this manner.
20007 @node Score File Format
20008 @section Score File Format
20009 @cindex score file format
20011 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20012 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20013 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20015 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20019 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20021 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20023 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20025 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20030 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20034 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20035 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20036 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20037 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20041 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20042 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20044 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20045 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20046 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20048 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20053 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20054 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20055 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20056 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20057 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20058 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20059 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20060 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20061 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20062 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20063 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20064 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20065 to articles that matches these score entries.
20067 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20068 score entry has one to four elements.
20072 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20073 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20077 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20078 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20079 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20080 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20081 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20082 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20085 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20086 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20087 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20088 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20089 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20092 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20093 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20094 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20095 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20098 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20099 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20100 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20101 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20102 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20103 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20104 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20105 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20106 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20107 instead, if you feel like.
20110 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20111 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20112 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20113 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20114 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20115 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20119 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20120 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20124 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20125 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20127 These predicates are true if
20130 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20133 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20134 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20141 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20142 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20143 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20144 it's not. I think.)
20146 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20147 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20148 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20149 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20152 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20153 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20154 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20155 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20156 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20157 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20158 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20162 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20163 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20164 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20165 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20166 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20167 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20168 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20169 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20172 @item Head, Body, All
20173 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20177 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20178 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20179 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20180 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20181 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20182 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20183 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20187 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20188 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20189 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20190 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20191 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20192 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20193 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20194 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20195 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20196 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20197 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20201 @cindex score file atoms
20203 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20204 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20207 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20208 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20210 @item mark-and-expunge
20211 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20212 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20215 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20216 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20217 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20218 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20219 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20222 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20223 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20226 @item exclude-files
20227 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20228 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20232 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
20233 ignored when handling global score files.
20236 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20237 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20238 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20239 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20242 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20243 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20244 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20245 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20247 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20251 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20254 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20255 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20256 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
20257 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20258 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20260 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20261 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20262 scoring rules exist.
20265 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20266 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20267 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20268 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20269 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20270 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20271 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20272 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20273 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20274 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20275 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20279 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20280 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20281 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20282 file for a number of groups.
20285 @cindex local variables
20286 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20287 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20288 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20289 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20290 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20295 @node Score File Editing
20296 @section Score File Editing
20298 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20299 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20300 with a mode for that.
20302 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20303 additional commands:
20308 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20309 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
20310 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20311 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
20314 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20315 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20316 Insert the current date in numerical format
20317 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20318 you were wondering.
20321 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20322 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20323 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20324 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20325 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20330 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20332 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20333 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20335 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20336 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20339 @node Adaptive Scoring
20340 @section Adaptive Scoring
20341 @cindex adaptive scoring
20343 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20344 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20345 stupidity, to be precise.
20347 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20348 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20349 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20350 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20351 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20352 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20353 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20354 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20355 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20357 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20358 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20359 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20360 might look something like this:
20363 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20364 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20365 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20366 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20367 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20368 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20369 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20370 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20371 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20372 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20373 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20374 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20377 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20378 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20379 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20380 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20381 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20382 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20385 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20386 will be applied to each article.
20388 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20389 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20390 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20391 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20393 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20394 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20395 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20396 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20398 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20399 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20400 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20401 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20403 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20404 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20405 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20406 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20407 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20408 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20410 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20411 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20412 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20414 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20415 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20416 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20418 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20419 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20420 let you use different rules in different groups.
20422 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20423 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20424 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20427 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20428 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20429 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20430 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20432 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20433 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20434 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20435 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20436 the length of the match is less than
20437 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20438 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20441 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20442 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20443 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20444 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20445 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20448 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20449 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20450 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20451 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20452 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20455 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20456 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20457 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20458 score with 30 points.
20460 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20461 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20462 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20463 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20464 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20466 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20467 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20468 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20469 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20470 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20472 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20473 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20474 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20475 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20477 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20478 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20479 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20480 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20482 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20483 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20484 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20485 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20486 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20488 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20489 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20490 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20492 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20493 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20494 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20495 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20498 @node Home Score File
20499 @section Home Score File
20501 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20502 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20503 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20504 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20506 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20507 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20508 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20510 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20511 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20516 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20520 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20521 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20525 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20529 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20530 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20533 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20534 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20535 name of the group as the parameter.
20538 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20541 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20546 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20549 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20550 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20553 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20554 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20556 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20558 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20559 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20562 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20563 Other functions include
20566 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20567 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20568 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20569 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20573 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20574 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20575 their own home score files:
20578 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20579 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20580 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20581 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20582 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20585 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20586 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20587 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20588 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20589 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20591 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20592 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20593 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20594 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20595 precedence over this variable.
20598 @node Followups To Yourself
20599 @section Followups To Yourself
20601 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20602 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20603 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20604 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20605 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20606 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20610 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20611 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20612 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20615 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20616 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20617 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20621 @vindex message-sent-hook
20622 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20623 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20625 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20629 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20630 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20634 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20635 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20638 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20639 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20644 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20648 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20649 is system-dependent.
20652 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20653 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20654 @cindex scoring on other headers
20656 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
20657 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
20658 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
20659 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
20660 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20662 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
20663 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20664 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20665 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20666 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20668 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20671 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20672 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20675 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20676 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20677 time if you have much mail.
20679 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20680 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20686 @section Scoring Tips
20687 @cindex scoring tips
20693 @cindex scoring crossposts
20694 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20695 the @code{Xref} header.
20697 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20700 @item Multiple crossposts
20701 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20702 more than, say, 3 groups:
20705 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20709 @item Matching on the body
20710 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20711 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20712 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20713 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20714 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20715 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20716 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20719 @item Marking as read
20720 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20721 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20722 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20726 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20728 @item Negated character classes
20729 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20730 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20731 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20735 @node Reverse Scoring
20736 @section Reverse Scoring
20737 @cindex reverse scoring
20739 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20740 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20741 like this in your score file:
20745 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20750 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20751 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20754 @node Global Score Files
20755 @section Global Score Files
20756 @cindex global score files
20758 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20759 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20760 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20762 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20763 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20764 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20766 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20767 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20768 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20769 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20770 files are applicable to which group.
20772 To use the score file
20773 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20774 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20778 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20779 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20780 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20783 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20785 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20786 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20787 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20788 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20790 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20791 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20793 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20794 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20795 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20796 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20797 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20798 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20800 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20806 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20808 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20810 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20812 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20813 lowered out of existence.
20815 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20816 articles completely.
20819 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20820 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20821 old articles for a long time.
20824 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20825 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20826 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20827 holding our breath yet?
20831 @section Kill Files
20834 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20835 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20836 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20838 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20839 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20840 files into score files.
20842 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20843 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20844 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20845 that isn't a very good idea.
20847 Normal kill files look like this:
20850 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20851 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20855 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20856 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20858 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20859 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20862 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20867 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20868 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20869 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20872 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20873 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20874 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20877 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20882 @kindex M-k (Group)
20883 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20884 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20887 @kindex M-K (Group)
20888 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20889 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20892 Kill file variables:
20895 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20896 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20897 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20898 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20899 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20900 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20901 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20903 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20904 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20905 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20906 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20909 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20910 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20911 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20912 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20913 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20914 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20915 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20916 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20917 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20919 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20920 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20921 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20926 @node Converting Kill Files
20927 @section Converting Kill Files
20929 @cindex converting kill files
20931 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20932 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20933 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20936 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20937 You can fetch it from
20938 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20940 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20941 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20942 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20946 @node Advanced Scoring
20947 @section Advanced Scoring
20949 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20950 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20951 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20952 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20953 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20955 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20959 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20960 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20961 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20965 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20966 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20968 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20969 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20970 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20971 non-@code{nil} value.
20973 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20974 operator, and various match operators.
20981 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20982 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20983 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20988 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20989 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20990 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20995 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20996 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21000 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21001 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21002 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21003 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21004 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21005 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21006 the ancestry you want to go.
21008 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21009 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21010 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21011 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21012 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21015 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21016 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21018 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21019 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21022 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21023 when he's talking about Gnus:
21028 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21029 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21036 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21040 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21047 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21048 really don't want to read what he's written:
21052 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21053 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
21057 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21058 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21059 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21066 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21067 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21068 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21069 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21073 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21074 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21075 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21076 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21079 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21081 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21085 The possibilities are endless.
21087 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21088 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21090 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21091 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21092 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21093 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21094 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21095 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21096 @samp{subject}) first.
21098 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21099 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21110 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21111 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21117 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21124 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21125 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21130 @section Score Decays
21131 @cindex score decays
21134 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21135 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21136 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21137 use them in any sensible way.
21139 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21140 @findex gnus-decay-score
21141 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21142 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21143 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21144 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21145 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21146 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21147 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21148 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21149 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21150 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21154 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21155 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21156 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21158 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21160 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21162 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21163 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21164 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21165 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21166 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21168 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21172 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21173 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21174 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21175 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21179 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21182 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21185 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21189 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21190 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21191 the new score, which should be an integer.
21193 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21194 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21199 @include message.texi
21200 @chapter Emacs MIME
21201 @include emacs-mime.texi
21203 @include sieve.texi
21205 @c @include pgg.texi
21207 @c @include sasl.texi
21215 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21216 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21217 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21218 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21219 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21220 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21221 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21222 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21223 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21224 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21225 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21226 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
21227 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21228 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21229 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21230 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21231 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21232 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21233 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
21234 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21235 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21239 @node Process/Prefix
21240 @section Process/Prefix
21241 @cindex process/prefix convention
21243 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21244 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21246 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21247 command to be performed on.
21251 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21252 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21253 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21254 with the current one.
21256 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21257 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21258 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21260 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21261 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21264 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21265 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21267 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21270 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21271 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21272 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21273 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21275 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21276 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21277 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21278 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21279 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21280 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21281 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21282 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21284 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21285 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21286 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21287 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21288 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21292 @section Interactive
21293 @cindex interaction
21297 @item gnus-novice-user
21298 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21299 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21300 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21301 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21302 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21305 @item gnus-expert-user
21306 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21307 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21308 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
21309 matter how strange.
21311 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21312 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21313 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21314 is @code{t} by default.
21316 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21317 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21318 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21323 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21324 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21325 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21327 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21328 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21329 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21330 rule of 900 to the current article.
21332 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21333 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21334 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21335 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21336 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21337 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21338 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21340 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21341 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21342 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21343 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21344 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21345 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21346 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21347 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21348 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21350 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21351 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21352 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21354 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21358 @node Formatting Variables
21359 @section Formatting Variables
21360 @cindex formatting variables
21362 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21363 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21364 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21365 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21366 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21369 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21370 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21371 lots of percentages everywhere.
21374 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21375 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21376 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21377 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21378 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21379 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21380 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21381 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21384 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21385 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21386 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21387 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21388 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21389 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21390 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21391 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21393 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21394 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21396 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21397 @findex gnus-update-format
21398 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21399 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21400 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21401 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21405 @node Formatting Basics
21406 @subsection Formatting Basics
21408 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21409 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21410 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21412 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21413 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21414 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21415 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21416 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21419 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21420 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21421 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21422 less than 4 characters wide.
21424 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21425 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21428 @node Mode Line Formatting
21429 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21431 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21432 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21433 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21434 with the following two differences:
21439 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21442 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21443 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21444 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21445 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21446 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21447 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21448 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21453 @node Advanced Formatting
21454 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21456 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21457 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21458 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21459 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21461 These are the valid modifiers:
21466 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21470 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21475 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21478 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21483 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21486 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
21489 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
21492 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
21498 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
21503 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
21504 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
21505 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
21506 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
21507 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
21508 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
21509 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
21511 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
21512 last operation, padding.
21514 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
21515 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
21516 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
21517 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
21518 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
21519 the look of your lines.
21520 @xref{Compilation}.
21523 @node User-Defined Specs
21524 @subsection User-Defined Specs
21526 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
21527 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
21528 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
21529 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
21530 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
21531 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
21532 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
21533 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
21534 should protect against that.
21536 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
21537 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
21539 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
21540 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
21541 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
21542 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
21546 @node Formatting Fonts
21547 @subsection Formatting Fonts
21549 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
21550 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
21551 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
21552 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
21555 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
21556 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
21557 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
21558 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
21559 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
21560 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
21562 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
21563 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
21564 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
21565 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
21566 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
21567 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
21568 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
21569 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
21570 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
21571 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
21572 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
21575 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
21578 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
21579 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
21580 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
21582 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
21583 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
21584 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
21585 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
21586 ;; @r{Set the color.}
21587 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
21588 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
21590 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
21591 (setq gnus-group-line-format
21592 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
21595 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
21596 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
21598 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
21599 mode-line variables.
21601 @node Positioning Point
21602 @subsection Positioning Point
21604 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
21605 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
21606 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
21608 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
21610 @findex gnus-goto-colon
21611 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
21612 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
21614 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
21615 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
21616 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
21621 @subsection Tabulation
21623 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
21624 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
21625 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
21626 about lining up the following text afterwards.
21628 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
21629 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
21631 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
21632 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
21633 This is the soft tabulator.
21635 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
21636 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
21637 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
21640 @node Wide Characters
21641 @subsection Wide Characters
21643 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
21644 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
21645 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
21647 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
21648 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
21649 these countries, that's not true.
21651 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
21652 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
21653 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
21654 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
21658 @node Window Layout
21659 @section Window Layout
21660 @cindex window layout
21662 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
21664 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
21665 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
21666 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
21667 @code{t} by default.
21669 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
21670 glitches. Use at your own peril.
21672 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
21673 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
21674 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
21677 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
21678 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
21679 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
21683 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
21684 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
21685 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
21686 possible names is listed below.
21688 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
21689 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
21692 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
21696 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
21697 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
21698 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
21699 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
21700 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
21701 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
21702 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
21703 size spec per split.
21705 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
21706 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
21707 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
21708 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
21709 present) gets focus.
21711 Here's a more complicated example:
21714 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
21715 (summary 0.25 point)
21716 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
21720 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
21721 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
21722 occupy, not a percentage.
21724 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
21725 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
21726 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
21727 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
21728 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
21731 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
21734 (article (horizontal 1.0
21739 (summary 0.25 point)
21744 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
21745 @code{horizontal} thingie?
21747 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
21748 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
21749 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
21750 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
21751 the screen is to be given to this strip.
21753 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
21754 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
21755 lines from the splits.
21757 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
21762 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
21763 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
21764 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
21765 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
21766 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
21767 size = number | frame-params
21768 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
21772 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
21773 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
21774 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
21775 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
21777 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
21778 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
21779 @cindex window height
21780 @cindex window width
21781 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
21782 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
21783 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
21784 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
21785 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
21786 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
21788 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
21789 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
21790 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
21791 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
21793 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21794 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21795 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21796 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21797 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21798 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21799 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21800 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21801 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21802 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21803 configuration list.
21806 (gnus-configure-frame
21810 (article 0.3 point))
21818 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21819 @code{frame} split:
21822 (gnus-configure-frame
21825 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21827 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21828 (user-position . t)
21829 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21834 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21835 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21836 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21837 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21838 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21839 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21840 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21841 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21843 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21844 be found in its default value.
21846 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21847 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21848 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21852 (message (horizontal 1.0
21853 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21855 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21860 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21861 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21862 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21867 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21868 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21869 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21870 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21871 (name . "Message"))
21872 (message 1.0 point))))
21875 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21876 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21877 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21878 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21879 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21882 (gnus-add-configuration
21883 '(article (vertical 1.0
21885 (summary .25 point)
21889 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21890 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21891 Gnus has been loaded.
21893 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21894 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21895 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21896 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21897 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21899 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21900 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21901 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21904 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21908 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21909 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21924 (gnus-add-configuration
21927 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21929 (summary 0.16 point)
21932 (gnus-add-configuration
21935 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21936 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21942 @node Faces and Fonts
21943 @section Faces and Fonts
21948 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21949 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21950 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21955 @section Compilation
21956 @cindex compilation
21957 @cindex byte-compilation
21959 @findex gnus-compile
21961 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21962 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21963 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
21964 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
21965 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
21966 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21967 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21968 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21971 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21972 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21973 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21974 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
21975 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
21978 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
21979 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
21980 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
21981 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
21982 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
21987 @section Mode Lines
21990 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21991 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21992 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21993 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21994 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21995 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21996 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21999 @cindex display-time
22001 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22002 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22003 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22004 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22005 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22006 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22007 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22008 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22011 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22013 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22014 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22016 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22017 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22018 (length display-time-string)))))
22021 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22022 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22023 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22024 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22025 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22028 @node Highlighting and Menus
22029 @section Highlighting and Menus
22031 @cindex highlighting
22034 @vindex gnus-visual
22035 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22036 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22037 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22040 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22041 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22044 @item group-highlight
22045 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22046 @item summary-highlight
22047 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22048 @item article-highlight
22049 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22051 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22053 Create menus in the group buffer.
22055 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22057 Create menus in the article buffer.
22059 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22061 Create menus in the server buffer.
22063 Create menus in the score buffers.
22065 Create menus in all buffers.
22068 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22069 buffers, you could say something like:
22072 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22075 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22078 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22081 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22082 in all Gnus buffers.
22084 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22087 @item gnus-mouse-face
22088 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22089 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22090 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22094 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22098 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22099 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22100 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22102 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22103 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22104 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22106 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22107 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22108 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22110 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22111 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22112 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22114 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22115 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22116 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22118 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22119 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22120 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22131 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22132 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22133 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22134 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22135 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22139 @vindex gnus-carpal
22140 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22141 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22142 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22147 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22148 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22149 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22151 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22152 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22153 Face used on buttons.
22155 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22156 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22157 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22159 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22160 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22161 Buttons in the group buffer.
22163 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22164 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22165 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22167 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22168 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22169 Buttons in the server buffer.
22171 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22172 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22173 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22176 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22177 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22178 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22186 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22187 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22188 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22189 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22190 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22192 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22193 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22194 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22196 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22197 been idle for thirty minutes:
22200 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22203 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22207 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22210 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22211 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22212 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22214 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22215 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22216 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22217 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22219 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22220 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22221 @var{idle} minutes.
22223 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22224 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22227 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22228 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22229 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22231 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22232 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22233 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22234 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22236 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22237 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22239 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22241 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22244 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
22245 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22246 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22247 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22248 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22249 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22250 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22251 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22252 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22253 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22254 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22256 @findex gnus-demon-init
22257 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22258 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22259 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22260 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22261 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22263 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22264 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22265 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22274 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
22275 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
22277 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
22278 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
22279 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
22280 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
22283 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
22284 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
22285 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
22286 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
22288 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
22289 this will make spam disappear.
22291 There are some variables to customize, of course:
22294 @item gnus-use-nocem
22295 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
22296 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
22299 You can also set this variable to a positive number as a group level.
22300 In that case, Gnus scans NoCeM messages when checking new news if this
22301 value is not exceeding a group level that you specify as the prefix
22302 argument to some commands, e.g. @code{gnus},
22303 @code{gnus-group-get-new-news}, etc. Otherwise, Gnus does not scan
22304 NoCeM messages if you specify a group level to those commands. For
22305 example, if you use 1 or 2 on the mail groups and the levels on the news
22306 groups remain the default, 3 is the best choice.
22308 @item gnus-nocem-groups
22309 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
22310 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
22313 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
22314 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
22317 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
22318 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
22319 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
22320 people you want to listen to. The default is
22322 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
22323 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
22325 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
22327 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
22328 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
22330 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
22331 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
22332 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
22333 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
22334 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
22335 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
22336 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
22337 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
22338 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
22339 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
22341 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
22342 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
22345 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
22348 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
22349 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
22352 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
22355 The specs are applied left-to-right.
22358 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
22359 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
22360 @findex pgg-verify-region
22361 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
22362 says she is. The default is the function using @code{pgg-verify-region}
22367 (pgg-verify-region (point-min) (point-max)))
22370 It returns non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful, otherwise
22371 (including the case the NoCeM message was not signed) returns
22372 @code{nil}. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
22373 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
22375 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
22376 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into the
22377 default function running with GnuPG if you are willing to add the
22378 @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
22380 @item gnus-nocem-directory
22381 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
22382 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
22383 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
22385 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22386 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22387 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
22388 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
22389 might then see old spam.
22391 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
22392 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
22393 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
22394 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
22395 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
22398 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22399 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22400 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
22401 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
22405 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
22406 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
22407 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
22408 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
22415 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22416 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22417 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22419 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22420 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22421 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22422 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22423 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22424 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22425 @code{undo} function.
22427 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22428 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22429 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22430 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22431 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22432 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22433 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22434 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22435 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22436 never be totally undoable.
22438 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22439 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22441 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22442 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22443 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22444 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22448 @node Predicate Specifiers
22449 @section Predicate Specifiers
22450 @cindex predicate specifiers
22452 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22453 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22454 to type all that much.
22456 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22461 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22462 gnus-article-unread-p)
22465 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22466 functions all take one parameter.
22468 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22469 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22470 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22471 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22476 @section Moderation
22479 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22480 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22481 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22484 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22488 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22491 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22493 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22498 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22499 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22500 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22503 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22504 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22507 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22508 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22512 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22515 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22516 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22520 @node Fetching a Group
22521 @section Fetching a Group
22522 @cindex fetching a group
22524 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22525 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22526 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22527 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22528 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22529 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22532 @node Image Enhancements
22533 @section Image Enhancements
22535 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22536 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
22537 taken advantage of that.
22540 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22541 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22542 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22543 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22544 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22552 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22553 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22554 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22558 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22559 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22560 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22568 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22569 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
22570 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
22571 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
22573 The variable that controls this is the
22574 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
22575 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22576 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22577 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
22578 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22580 The default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22581 @code{display} program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick
22582 package. For the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look
22583 for a package like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux
22584 system.} to view the face.
22586 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
22587 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
22588 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
22589 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
22590 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
22591 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
22592 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
22593 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
22595 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22603 @vindex gnus-x-face
22604 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22605 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22606 default colors are black and white.
22608 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22609 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22610 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22611 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22612 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22613 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22616 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22617 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22618 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22619 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22621 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22622 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22623 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22624 (png . (:relief -2))))
22627 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22628 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22629 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22630 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22631 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22632 @samp{libcompface} library.
22635 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
22636 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
22637 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
22638 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
22640 @findex gnus-random-x-face
22641 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
22642 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
22643 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
22644 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
22645 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
22646 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
22647 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
22648 header data as a string.
22650 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
22651 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
22652 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
22653 randomly generated data.
22655 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
22656 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
22657 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
22658 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
22659 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
22661 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
22662 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22665 (setq message-required-news-headers
22666 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22667 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
22670 Using the last function would be something like this:
22673 (setq message-required-news-headers
22674 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22675 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
22676 (gnus-x-face-from-file
22677 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
22685 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
22687 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
22688 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
22689 represent the author of the message.
22692 @findex gnus-article-display-face
22693 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
22694 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
22697 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
22698 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
22700 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
22701 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
22703 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
22704 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
22705 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
22707 @findex gnus-face-from-file
22708 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
22709 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
22710 converts the file to Face format by using the
22711 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
22713 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
22714 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22717 (setq message-required-news-headers
22718 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22719 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
22720 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
22725 @subsection Smileys
22730 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
22735 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
22736 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
22738 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
22739 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22742 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
22745 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
22746 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
22747 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
22748 text and maps that to file names.
22750 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
22751 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
22752 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
22753 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
22754 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
22757 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
22762 @item smiley-data-directory
22763 @vindex smiley-data-directory
22764 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
22766 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
22767 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
22768 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
22782 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
22783 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
22784 over your shoulder as you read news.
22786 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
22795 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
22796 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
22797 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
22798 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
22799 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
22800 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
22801 @code{GIF} formats.
22804 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22805 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
22806 point your Web browser at
22807 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
22809 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
22810 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
22812 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
22813 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
22816 @vindex gnus-picon-style
22817 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
22818 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
22819 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
22821 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
22825 @item gnus-picon-databases
22826 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22827 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
22828 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
22829 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
22830 "/usr/local/faces")}.
22832 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
22833 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
22834 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22835 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
22837 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
22838 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
22839 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
22840 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
22842 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
22843 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
22844 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22845 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
22846 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
22848 @item gnus-picon-file-types
22849 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
22850 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
22851 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
22857 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
22860 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22861 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22862 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
22863 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
22864 unusual directory structure.
22866 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22867 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22868 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22873 @subsubsection Toolbar
22877 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22878 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22879 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
22880 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
22881 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
22882 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
22883 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
22884 names show. The default is @code{default}.
22886 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
22887 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
22888 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
22889 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
22890 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
22891 The default is that of the default toolbar.
22893 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22894 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22895 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22897 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22898 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22899 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22901 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22902 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22903 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22914 @node Fuzzy Matching
22915 @section Fuzzy Matching
22916 @cindex fuzzy matching
22918 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22919 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22921 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22922 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22923 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22925 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22926 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22927 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22928 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22929 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22932 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22933 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22937 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22939 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22940 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22941 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22942 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22943 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22944 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22945 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22946 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22949 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22950 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22951 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22952 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22953 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22954 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22956 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22959 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22960 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22961 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22962 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22963 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22964 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22967 @node The problem of spam
22968 @subsection The problem of spam
22970 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22971 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22973 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22975 First, some background on spam.
22977 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22978 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22979 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22980 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22981 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22982 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22983 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22984 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22985 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22987 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22988 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22989 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22990 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22991 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22992 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22993 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22994 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22995 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22998 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22999 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23000 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23001 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23002 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23003 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23004 from Bulgarian IPs.
23006 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23007 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23008 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23009 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23011 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23012 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23013 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23014 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23016 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23017 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23018 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23019 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23020 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23021 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23022 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23023 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23024 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23026 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23027 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23028 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23029 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23030 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23031 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23032 down for some time because of the incident.
23034 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23035 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23036 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23037 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23038 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23039 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23040 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23041 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
23042 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23043 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23044 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23046 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23047 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23048 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23049 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23050 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23051 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23052 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23055 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23056 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23060 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23062 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23063 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23065 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23066 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23067 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23068 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23069 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23070 part of the mail address.)
23073 (setq message-default-news-headers
23074 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23077 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23078 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23082 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23083 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23084 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23089 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23090 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23091 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23092 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23094 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23095 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23096 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23097 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23098 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23099 your fancy split rule in this way:
23104 (to "larsi" "misc")
23108 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23109 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23110 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23111 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23112 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23114 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23115 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23116 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23117 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23119 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23123 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23124 @cindex SpamAssassin
23125 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23128 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23129 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23130 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23131 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23132 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23133 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23134 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23136 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23137 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23138 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23141 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23142 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23143 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23144 Specifiers}) follow.
23148 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23152 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23155 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23156 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23157 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23160 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23164 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23167 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23168 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23172 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23173 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23174 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23175 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23178 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23180 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23184 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23185 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23189 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23190 downloaded by default. You need to set
23191 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23192 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
23194 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23195 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23196 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23199 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23200 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23202 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
23203 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
23204 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23208 @subsection Hashcash
23211 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23212 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23213 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23214 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23215 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23217 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23218 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23219 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23220 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23221 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23222 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23223 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23224 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23225 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23226 one of them separately.
23229 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23230 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23231 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23232 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23233 need to install to use this feature, see
23234 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23235 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23237 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23238 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23239 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23242 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23245 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23249 @item hashcash-default-payment
23250 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23251 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23252 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23255 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23256 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23257 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23258 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23259 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23260 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23261 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23262 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23263 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23265 @item hashcash-path
23266 @vindex hashcash-path
23267 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23268 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23269 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23270 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23271 when you generate hashcash payments.
23275 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23276 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23277 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23278 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23279 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23280 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23281 Hashcash Payments}).
23283 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
23284 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
23285 @cindex spam filtering
23288 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
23289 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
23290 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
23291 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
23294 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23295 events. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events}.
23297 @cindex spam-initialize
23298 To use @code{spam.el}, you @strong{must} run the function
23299 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @file{spam.el} and to install the
23300 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
23301 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
23302 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
23305 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
23309 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
23311 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
23312 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
23313 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
23314 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
23315 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
23317 You get the following keyboard commands:
23327 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23328 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
23330 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
23331 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
23332 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
23333 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
23339 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
23340 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
23342 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
23348 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
23349 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
23353 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
23354 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
23355 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
23356 * Spam ELisp Package Sorting and Score Display in Summary Buffer::
23357 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
23358 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
23359 * BBDB Whitelists::
23360 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
23361 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
23363 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
23365 * SpamAssassin back end::
23366 * ifile spam filtering::
23367 * spam-stat spam filtering::
23369 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
23372 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
23373 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
23374 @cindex spam filtering
23375 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23377 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
23378 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23380 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
23381 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
23384 Getting new mail in Gnus is done in one of two ways. You can either
23385 split your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or
23386 spam when you enter the group.
23388 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail back ends such as
23389 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
23390 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
23393 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect
23394 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect-methods
23395 For back ends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
23396 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
23397 back ends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
23398 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
23399 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
23400 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
23401 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect} and @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods}
23402 (accessible with @kbd{M-x customize-variable} as usual) can help.
23404 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used (you can turn it on for a
23405 group/topic or wholesale by regular expression matches, as needed), it
23406 hooks into the process of entering a group. Thus, entering a group
23407 with unseen or unread articles becomes the substitute for checking
23408 incoming mail. Whether only unseen articles or all unread articles
23409 will be processed is determined by the
23410 @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When set to @code{t}, unread
23411 messages will be rechecked. You should probably stick with the
23412 default of only checking unseen messages.
23414 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
23415 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
23416 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
23417 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
23418 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
23419 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
23420 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
23421 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
23422 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
23424 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
23425 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
23426 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
23427 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
23428 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
23429 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
23430 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
23431 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
23432 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
23433 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
23435 Thus, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied,
23436 if any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
23437 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
23438 depending on the article's classification. If the
23439 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
23440 whichever is appropriate, are @code{nil}, the article is left in the
23443 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
23444 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
23445 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
23446 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
23447 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
23448 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
23449 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
23450 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
23451 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
23452 which is what most people want. If the
23453 @code{spam-process-destination} is @code{nil}, the spam is marked as
23454 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23456 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23457 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23459 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determined by the
23460 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
23461 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
23462 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23463 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
23464 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
23465 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
23466 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
23467 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
23468 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
23469 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
23471 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23472 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23474 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23475 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23476 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23478 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
23479 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
23480 @cindex spam filtering
23481 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23484 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
23485 must add the following to your fancy split list
23486 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
23492 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23493 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
23494 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
23496 Also, @code{spam-split} will not modify incoming mail in any way.
23498 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
23499 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
23500 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
23501 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
23502 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
23503 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
23504 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
23505 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
23506 actually give you the group
23507 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
23508 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
23510 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
23511 e.g. @code{spam-use-regex-headers} or @code{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
23514 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
23515 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
23518 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23519 (any "ding" "ding")
23521 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23525 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
23526 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
23527 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
23528 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
23529 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
23530 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23532 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
23533 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
23534 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
23539 ;; @r{all spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23540 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23541 (any "ding" "ding")
23542 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23544 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23548 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23549 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
23550 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23551 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23552 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23553 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23554 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23556 You should still have specific checks such as
23557 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
23558 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
23559 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
23560 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
23561 is usually not critical, though.
23563 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
23565 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
23566 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
23567 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
23568 message headers. If you use a @emph{statistical} filter,
23569 e.g. @code{spam-check-bogofilter}, @code{spam-check-ifile}, or
23570 @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that can benefit from the full
23571 message body), this variable will be set automatically. It is not set
23572 for non-statistical back ends by default because it will slow
23573 @acronym{IMAP} down.
23575 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
23577 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
23578 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
23579 @cindex spam filtering
23580 @cindex spam filtering variables
23581 @cindex spam variables
23584 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23585 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
23586 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
23587 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
23588 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
23589 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
23590 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
23591 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
23592 will be detected later.
23594 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
23595 but now it is a @sc{cons} cell. See the individual spam processor entries
23596 for more information.
23598 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23599 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
23600 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
23601 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
23602 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
23603 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
23604 by customizing the corresponding variable
23605 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
23606 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
23607 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
23608 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
23609 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
23610 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
23611 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
23614 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
23616 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
23617 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
23618 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
23619 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
23620 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
23621 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
23622 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
23623 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
23624 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
23625 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
23626 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
23627 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
23628 processor which will study them as spam samples.
23630 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
23631 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
23632 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
23633 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
23634 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
23635 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
23636 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
23637 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
23640 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23641 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
23642 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
23643 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
23644 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
23645 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
23646 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
23651 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23652 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
23653 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
23654 you really want to.
23657 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
23658 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
23659 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
23660 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
23661 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
23662 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
23665 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23666 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
23667 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
23668 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
23669 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
23670 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
23671 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
23672 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
23673 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
23674 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
23675 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
23676 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
23677 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
23678 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
23679 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
23681 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23682 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23684 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23685 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
23686 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
23688 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
23689 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
23691 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
23692 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
23693 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
23694 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
23695 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
23697 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
23698 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
23699 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
23700 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
23701 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
23704 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23705 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
23706 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
23707 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
23708 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
23709 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
23710 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
23711 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
23712 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
23713 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
23714 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
23715 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
23716 group buffer then you need it here as well.
23718 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
23719 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23721 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23722 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
23725 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
23726 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
23727 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
23728 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
23729 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
23730 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
23731 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
23733 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
23734 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
23735 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
23736 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
23738 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
23739 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
23740 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
23741 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
23742 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
23743 from the mail server.
23745 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
23746 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
23747 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
23748 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
23750 @node Spam ELisp Package Sorting and Score Display in Summary Buffer
23751 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sorting and Score Display in Summary Buffer
23752 @cindex spam scoring
23753 @cindex spam sorting
23754 @cindex spam score summary buffer
23755 @cindex spam sort summary buffer
23758 You can display the spam score of articles in your summary buffer, and
23759 you can sort articles by their spam score.
23761 First you need to decide which back end you will be using. If you use
23762 the @code{spam-use-spamassassin},
23763 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}, or @code{spam-use-regex-headers}
23764 back end, the @code{X-Spam-Status} header will be used. If you use
23765 @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, the @code{X-Bogosity} header will be used.
23766 If you use @code{spam-use-crm114}, any header that matches the CRM114
23767 score format will be used. As long as you set the appropriate back end
23768 variable to t @emph{before} you load @file{spam.el}, you will be
23769 fine. @code{spam.el} will automatically add the right header to the
23770 internal Gnus list of required headers.
23772 To show the spam score in your summary buffer, add this line to your
23773 @code{gnus.el} file (note @code{spam.el} does not do that by default
23774 so it won't override any existing @code{S} formats you may have).
23777 (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-S 'spam-user-format-function-S)
23780 Now just set your summary line format to use @code{%uS}. Here's an
23781 example that formats the spam score in a 5-character field:
23784 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
23785 "%U%R %10&user-date; $%5uS %6k %B %(%4L: %*%-25,25a%) %s \n")
23788 Finally, to sort by spam status, either do it globally:
23792 gnus-show-threads nil
23793 gnus-article-sort-functions
23794 '(spam-article-sort-by-spam-status))
23797 or per group (@pxref{Sorting the Summary Buffer}).
23799 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23800 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23801 @cindex spam filtering
23802 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
23803 @cindex spam configuration examples
23806 @subsubheading Ted's setup
23808 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
23810 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
23811 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
23812 (gnus-registry-initialize)
23815 ;; @r{I like @kbd{C-s} for marking spam}
23816 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map "\C-s" 'gnus-summary-mark-as-spam)
23819 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
23821 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
23822 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
23823 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23824 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23825 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
23826 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
23827 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
23828 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
23829 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23830 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
23831 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23832 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
23833 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
23834 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
23835 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23836 (any "ding" "ding")
23837 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
23839 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23842 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
23844 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
23845 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
23846 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
23847 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
23849 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23851 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
23852 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
23853 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
23854 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
23855 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23857 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
23858 ((spam-autodetect . t))
23860 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
23862 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
23863 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
23865 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
23866 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
23867 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
23869 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
23871 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
23872 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
23874 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
23875 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
23876 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
23878 (gnus-ticked-mark))
23879 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
23880 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
23881 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
23883 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
23884 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
23885 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
23889 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
23890 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23892 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
23893 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
23894 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
23895 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
23896 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
23897 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
23898 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
23899 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
23900 @samp{training.spam} folders.
23902 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
23903 does most of the job for me:
23906 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
23907 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
23908 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
23909 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23910 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
23911 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
23912 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
23917 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
23919 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
23920 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
23921 bogofilter or DCC).
23923 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
23924 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
23925 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark (@code{ham-marks},
23926 @ref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). On group exit, those
23927 messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want to have
23928 the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter) and
23929 deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
23931 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
23932 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
23933 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
23934 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
23935 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
23936 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
23938 @item @b{Ham folders:}
23940 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
23941 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
23942 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
23943 @samp{training.spam}.
23946 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
23948 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23950 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
23951 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
23952 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
23956 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
23959 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
23960 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
23961 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
23962 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
23963 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
23965 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
23966 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
23967 @cindex spam filtering
23968 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
23969 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
23972 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
23974 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
23975 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
23976 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
23977 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
23982 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
23984 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
23985 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
23986 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23987 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
23988 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23992 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
23994 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
23995 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23996 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24000 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24002 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24003 customizing the group parameters or the
24004 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24005 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24006 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24010 Instead of the obsolete
24011 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24012 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24013 the same way, we promise.
24017 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24019 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24020 customizing the group parameters or the
24021 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24022 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24023 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24028 Instead of the obsolete
24029 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24030 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24031 the same way, we promise.
24035 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24036 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24037 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24038 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24039 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24041 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24042 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24043 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24044 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24046 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24047 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24048 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24049 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24050 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24051 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24053 @node BBDB Whitelists
24054 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24055 @cindex spam filtering
24056 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24057 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24060 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24062 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24063 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24064 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24065 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24066 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24067 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24068 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24072 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24074 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24075 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24076 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24077 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24078 classified as spammers.
24080 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24081 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24082 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24083 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24088 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24090 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24091 customizing the group parameters or the
24092 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24093 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24094 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24099 Instead of the obsolete
24100 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24101 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24102 the same way, we promise.
24106 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24107 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24108 @cindex spam reporting
24109 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24110 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24113 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24115 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24116 customizing the group parameters or the
24117 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24118 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24119 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24122 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24126 Instead of the obsolete
24127 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24128 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24129 same way, we promise.
24133 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24135 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24136 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24137 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24138 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24139 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24143 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24145 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24146 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24147 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24151 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24152 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24153 @cindex spam filtering
24154 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24157 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24159 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24160 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24161 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24162 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24163 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24164 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24169 @subsubsection Blackholes
24170 @cindex spam filtering
24171 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24174 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24176 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24177 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24178 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24179 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24180 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24181 contains outdated servers.
24183 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24184 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24185 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24186 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24187 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24188 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24192 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24194 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24198 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24200 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24201 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24205 @defvar spam-use-dig
24207 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24208 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24212 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24213 ham processor for blackholes.
24215 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24216 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24217 @cindex spam filtering
24218 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24221 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24223 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24224 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24225 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24226 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24227 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24228 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24232 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24234 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24235 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24239 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24241 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24242 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24246 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24247 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24250 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24251 @cindex spam filtering
24252 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24255 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24257 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24260 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24261 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24262 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24263 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24264 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24265 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24267 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24268 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24271 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24272 processing will be turned off.
24274 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24278 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24280 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24281 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24282 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24283 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24284 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24285 installation documents for details.
24287 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24291 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24292 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24293 customizing the group parameters or the
24294 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24295 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24296 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24300 Instead of the obsolete
24301 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24302 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24303 the same way, we promise.
24306 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24307 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24308 customizing the group parameters or the
24309 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24310 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24311 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24312 of non-spam messages.
24316 Instead of the obsolete
24317 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24318 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24319 the same way, we promise.
24322 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24324 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24325 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24326 database directory.
24330 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24331 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24332 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24333 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24334 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24335 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24337 @node SpamAssassin back end
24338 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24339 @cindex spam filtering
24340 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24343 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24345 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24347 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24348 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24349 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24350 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24353 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24354 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24355 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24356 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24359 You should not enable this is you use
24360 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24364 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24366 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24367 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24369 You should not enable this is you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24373 @defvar spam-spamassassin-path
24375 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24376 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24377 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24378 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24382 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24383 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24384 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24385 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24386 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24387 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24388 to test this functionality.
24390 @node ifile spam filtering
24391 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24392 @cindex spam filtering
24393 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24396 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24398 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24399 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24403 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24405 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24406 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24407 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24411 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24413 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24414 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24415 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24418 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
24420 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24421 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24425 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24426 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24427 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24428 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24431 @node spam-stat spam filtering
24432 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
24433 @cindex spam filtering
24434 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24438 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
24440 @defvar spam-use-stat
24442 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
24443 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
24447 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24448 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24449 customizing the group parameters or the
24450 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24451 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24452 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24456 Instead of the obsolete
24457 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24458 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24459 the same way, we promise.
24462 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24463 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24464 customizing the group parameters or the
24465 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24466 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24467 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24468 of non-spam messages.
24472 Instead of the obsolete
24473 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24474 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24475 the same way, we promise.
24478 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24479 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24480 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24481 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24482 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24485 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24486 @cindex spam filtering
24490 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24491 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24492 installed separately.
24494 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24495 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24496 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24497 mail as a spam mail or not.
24499 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24500 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24501 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24503 The easiest method is to make @code{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
24504 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
24506 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24507 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24508 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24509 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
24510 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
24511 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
24512 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
24513 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
24517 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24518 spam-split-group "Junk"
24519 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24520 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24521 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24524 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24525 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24529 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24530 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24531 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24535 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24536 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24537 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
24538 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24539 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24540 database to live somewhere special, set
24541 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24544 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24545 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24546 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
24547 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24548 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24549 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
24550 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @code{spam.el}'s
24551 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
24552 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
24553 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
24555 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24556 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24557 customizing the group parameter or the
24558 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24559 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24560 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24564 Instead of the obsolete
24565 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24566 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24567 the same way, we promise.
24570 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24571 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24572 customizing the group parameter or the
24573 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24574 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24575 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24580 Instead of the obsolete
24581 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24582 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24583 the same way, we promise.
24586 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24587 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24590 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24591 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24592 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24594 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24595 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24596 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24597 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24598 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24599 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24601 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
24602 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
24603 @cindex spam filtering
24604 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24605 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
24607 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
24608 incoming mail, provide the following:
24616 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
24617 "True if blackbox should be used.")
24620 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
24622 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
24623 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
24624 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
24625 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
24626 register/unregister spam and ham.
24631 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
24632 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
24633 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
24634 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
24639 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
24646 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
24647 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
24649 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
24650 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
24651 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
24652 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
24655 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
24656 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
24657 Only applicable to spam groups.")
24659 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
24660 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
24661 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
24670 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
24671 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
24673 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
24674 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
24675 variable customization.
24679 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
24681 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
24682 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
24684 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
24685 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
24691 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
24693 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
24694 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
24695 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
24698 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
24700 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
24701 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
24705 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
24707 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
24708 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
24709 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
24713 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
24715 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
24716 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
24717 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
24720 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
24722 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
24723 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
24727 @code{spam-install-backend}
24729 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
24730 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
24731 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
24734 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
24736 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
24737 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
24738 never install such a back end.
24744 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
24745 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
24746 @cindex Paul Graham
24747 @cindex Graham, Paul
24748 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
24749 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
24750 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
24752 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
24753 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
24754 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
24755 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
24756 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
24757 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
24758 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
24759 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
24760 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
24763 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
24764 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
24765 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
24766 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
24767 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
24768 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
24769 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
24770 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
24772 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
24773 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
24774 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
24775 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
24776 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
24779 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
24780 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
24781 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
24784 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
24785 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
24787 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
24788 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
24789 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
24790 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
24791 need several hundred emails in both collections.
24793 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
24794 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
24795 per mail. Use the following:
24797 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
24798 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
24799 is treated as one spam mail.
24802 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
24803 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
24804 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
24807 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
24808 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
24809 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
24810 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
24811 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
24812 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
24814 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
24815 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
24816 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
24817 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
24818 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
24821 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
24822 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
24823 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
24824 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
24827 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
24828 reset the dictionary.
24830 @defun spam-stat-reset
24831 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
24834 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
24835 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
24836 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
24837 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
24838 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
24839 only non-spam mails.
24841 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
24842 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
24843 to update the dictionary incrementally.
24846 @defun spam-stat-save
24847 Save the dictionary.
24850 @defvar spam-stat-file
24851 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
24852 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
24855 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
24856 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
24858 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
24859 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24862 (require 'spam-stat)
24866 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
24869 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
24870 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
24871 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
24872 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
24874 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
24875 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
24876 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
24877 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
24880 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24881 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24885 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
24886 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
24889 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
24890 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
24891 expression are considered potential spam.
24894 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24895 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24896 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24900 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
24901 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
24902 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
24903 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
24904 mails, when creating the dictionary!
24907 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24908 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24909 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24913 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
24914 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
24915 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
24916 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
24917 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
24921 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24922 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
24923 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24924 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24929 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24930 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24932 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
24934 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
24935 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
24936 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24939 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
24940 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
24941 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24944 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
24945 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
24946 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
24947 already been processed as non-spam.
24950 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
24951 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
24952 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
24953 been processed as spam.
24956 @defun spam-stat-save
24957 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
24958 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24961 @defun spam-stat-load
24962 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
24963 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24966 @defun spam-stat-score-word
24967 Return the spam score for a word.
24970 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
24971 Return the spam score for a buffer.
24974 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
24975 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
24976 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
24979 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
24980 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24983 (require 'spam-stat)
24987 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
24990 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24991 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24992 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24993 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24994 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24995 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24996 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24997 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24998 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24999 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25000 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25001 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25002 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25003 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25006 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25009 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25010 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25011 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25012 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25013 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25014 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25018 @section Interaction with other modes
25023 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provided some useful functions for dired
25024 buffers. It is enabled with
25026 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25031 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25032 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25033 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25036 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25037 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25038 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25042 @findex gnus-dired-print
25043 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25044 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25047 @node Various Various
25048 @section Various Various
25054 @item gnus-home-directory
25055 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25056 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25057 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25059 @item gnus-directory
25060 @vindex gnus-directory
25061 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25062 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25063 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25065 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
25066 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25067 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25068 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25070 @item gnus-default-directory
25071 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25072 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25073 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25074 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25075 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25076 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25077 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25080 @vindex gnus-verbose
25081 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25082 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25083 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25084 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25085 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25087 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25088 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25089 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25090 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25092 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25093 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25094 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25095 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25096 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25097 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25098 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25099 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25100 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25101 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25103 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25104 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25105 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25106 read when doing the operation described above.
25108 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25109 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25111 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25112 @cindex characters in file names
25113 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25114 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25115 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25119 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25124 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25125 Windows (phooey) systems.
25127 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25128 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25129 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25130 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25131 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25133 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25134 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25135 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25136 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25137 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25139 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25140 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25141 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25143 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25144 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25146 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25147 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25148 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25149 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25152 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25160 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25161 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25163 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25165 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25171 Not because of victories @*
25174 but for the common sunshine,@*
25176 the largess of the spring.
25180 but for the day's work done@*
25181 as well as I was able;@*
25182 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25183 but at the common table.@*
25188 @chapter Appendices
25191 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25192 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25193 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25194 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25195 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25196 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25197 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25198 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25199 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25206 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25208 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25209 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25210 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25211 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25212 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25213 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25220 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25221 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25223 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25224 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25225 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25226 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25227 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25229 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25230 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25231 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25232 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25233 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25234 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25236 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25237 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25238 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25239 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25242 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25243 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25244 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25245 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25246 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25247 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25248 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25249 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25250 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25254 @node Gnus Versions
25255 @subsection Gnus Versions
25257 @cindex September Gnus
25259 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25260 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25263 @cindex Gnus versions
25265 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25266 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25267 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25269 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25270 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25272 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25273 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25275 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25276 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25278 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25279 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25282 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25283 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25285 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25287 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25288 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25289 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25290 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25291 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25292 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25295 @node Other Gnus Versions
25296 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25299 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25300 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25301 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25302 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25304 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25305 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25306 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25307 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25314 What's the point of Gnus?
25316 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25317 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25318 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25319 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25320 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25321 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25322 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25323 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25324 keep track of millions of people who post?
25326 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25327 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25328 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25329 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25330 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25331 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25332 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25333 every one of you to explore and invent.
25335 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25336 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25339 @node Compatibility
25340 @subsection Compatibility
25342 @cindex compatibility
25343 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25344 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25345 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25350 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25354 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25357 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25360 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25361 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25362 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25363 important variables have their values copied into their global
25364 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25365 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25367 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25368 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25369 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25370 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25371 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25375 @cindex highlighting
25376 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25377 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25378 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25379 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25380 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25381 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25384 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25385 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25386 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25387 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25389 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25390 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25391 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25392 to stop doing it the old way.
25394 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25396 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25398 @cindex reporting bugs
25400 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25401 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25402 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25404 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25405 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25406 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25407 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25412 @subsection Conformity
25414 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25415 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25423 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25427 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
25429 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
25430 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
25431 We do have some breaches to this one.
25437 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
25438 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
25439 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
25440 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
25441 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
25446 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
25447 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
25448 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
25449 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
25451 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
25452 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
25453 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
25455 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
25456 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
25458 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
25461 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
25462 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
25463 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
25464 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
25465 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
25468 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
25469 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
25470 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
25471 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
25473 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
25474 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
25476 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
25477 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
25478 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
25479 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
25480 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
25481 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
25482 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
25483 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
25487 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
25488 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
25493 @subsection Emacsen
25499 Gnus should work on:
25507 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
25511 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
25512 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
25513 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
25514 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
25515 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
25517 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
25518 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
25519 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
25523 @node Gnus Development
25524 @subsection Gnus Development
25526 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
25527 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
25528 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
25529 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
25530 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
25531 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
25532 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
25533 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
25535 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
25536 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
25537 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
25538 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
25539 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
25542 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
25543 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
25544 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
25545 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
25546 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
25548 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
25549 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
25550 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
25551 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
25552 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
25553 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
25554 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
25555 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
25556 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
25557 can't be assumed to do so.
25562 @subsection Contributors
25563 @cindex contributors
25565 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
25566 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
25567 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
25568 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
25569 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
25570 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
25571 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
25572 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
25573 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
25574 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
25576 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
25582 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
25585 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
25586 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
25587 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
25588 functionality and stuff.
25591 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
25592 well as numerous other things).
25595 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
25598 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
25601 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
25604 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
25607 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
25608 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
25611 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
25614 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
25617 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
25620 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
25623 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
25626 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
25629 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
25630 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
25633 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
25636 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
25639 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
25642 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
25646 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
25649 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
25652 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
25655 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
25656 well as autoconf support.
25660 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
25661 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
25663 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
25678 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
25680 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
25684 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
25694 Alexei V. Barantsev,
25709 Massimo Campostrini,
25714 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
25715 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
25719 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
25722 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
25728 Michael Welsh Duggan,
25733 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
25737 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
25745 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
25747 Michelangelo Grigni,
25751 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
25753 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
25755 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
25762 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
25763 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
25764 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
25766 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
25776 Peter Skov Knudsen,
25777 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
25779 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
25780 Thor Kristoffersen,
25783 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
25801 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
25802 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
25809 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
25814 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
25818 John McClary Prevost,
25824 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
25829 Christian von Roques,
25832 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
25839 Philippe Schnoebelen,
25841 Randal L. Schwartz,
25855 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
25860 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
25880 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
25881 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
25882 (550kB and counting).
25884 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
25887 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
25888 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
25892 @subsection New Features
25893 @cindex new features
25896 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
25897 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
25898 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
25899 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
25900 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
25901 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
25902 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
25905 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
25906 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
25907 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
25910 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
25912 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
25917 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
25918 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
25921 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
25922 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
25925 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
25928 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
25929 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
25930 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
25933 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
25934 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
25935 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
25936 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25939 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
25940 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25943 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
25944 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
25945 (@pxref{The Active File}).
25948 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
25949 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
25952 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
25953 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
25954 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25957 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
25958 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
25959 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
25962 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
25963 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
25966 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
25967 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
25970 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
25971 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
25974 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
25975 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25978 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
25979 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
25982 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
25983 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25986 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
25989 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
25990 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
25993 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
25994 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
25997 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
25998 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26001 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26004 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26005 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26008 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26012 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26016 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26017 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26020 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
26026 @node September Gnus
26027 @subsubsection September Gnus
26031 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26035 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26040 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26041 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26045 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26046 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26050 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26054 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26055 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26058 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26062 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26065 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26068 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26071 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26075 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26076 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26079 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26083 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26087 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26091 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26095 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26098 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26099 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26102 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26106 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26107 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26110 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26113 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26114 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26115 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26118 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
26122 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26125 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26129 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26130 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26133 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26134 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26137 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26138 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26141 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26142 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26143 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26146 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26147 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26150 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26153 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26156 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26159 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26162 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26163 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26166 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26170 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26173 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26178 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
26181 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
26185 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26188 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26192 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26195 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26198 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26199 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26202 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26203 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26207 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26208 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26211 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26215 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26216 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26219 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26222 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26226 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26230 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26231 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26234 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26238 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26239 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26242 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26243 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26246 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26250 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26253 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26256 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26262 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26264 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26268 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26275 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26278 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26279 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26282 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26283 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26287 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26288 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26291 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26294 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26295 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26298 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26302 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26303 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26307 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26308 Server Internals}).
26311 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26315 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26318 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26319 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26322 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26323 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26324 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26327 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26328 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26331 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26332 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26335 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26339 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26340 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26343 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26344 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26347 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26351 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26354 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26358 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26359 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26362 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26363 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26366 A new command for reading collections of documents
26367 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26368 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26371 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26375 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26376 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26379 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26380 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26381 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26384 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26385 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26389 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26393 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26397 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26402 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26406 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26410 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26411 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26414 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26420 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26422 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26427 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26428 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26429 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26432 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26433 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26434 group, which is created automatically.
26437 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
26441 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
26444 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
26445 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
26448 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
26452 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
26455 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
26456 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
26459 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
26462 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
26466 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
26467 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
26470 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
26471 control over simplification.
26474 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
26477 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
26481 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
26484 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
26487 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
26488 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
26489 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
26492 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
26493 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
26496 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
26500 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
26501 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
26504 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
26505 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
26508 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
26512 A history of where mails have been split is available.
26515 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
26518 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
26519 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
26522 A new function for citing in Message has been
26523 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
26526 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
26529 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
26533 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
26534 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
26537 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
26538 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
26541 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
26544 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
26548 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
26549 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
26551 New features in Gnus 5.8:
26556 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
26557 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
26559 If you used procmail like in
26562 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
26563 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
26564 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
26565 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
26568 this now has changed to
26572 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
26576 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
26579 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
26580 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
26583 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
26584 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
26587 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
26588 called to position point.
26591 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
26592 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
26595 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
26596 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
26599 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
26600 subtly different manner.
26603 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
26604 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
26605 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
26608 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
26613 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
26616 New features in Gnus 5.10:
26621 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
26622 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
26623 region if the region is active.
26626 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
26630 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
26631 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
26634 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
26635 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
26638 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
26640 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
26641 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
26642 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
26643 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
26644 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
26645 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
26646 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
26647 isn't save in general.
26652 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
26653 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
26654 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
26655 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
26660 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
26661 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
26662 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
26666 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
26669 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
26674 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
26675 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
26677 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
26678 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
26682 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
26683 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
26686 Retrieval of charters and control messages
26688 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
26689 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
26694 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
26695 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
26696 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
26699 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
26700 decompressed when activated.
26703 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
26704 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
26707 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
26710 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
26711 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
26714 Warn about email replies to news
26716 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
26717 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
26721 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
26722 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
26726 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
26727 opposed to old but unread messages).
26730 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
26731 Gcc articles as read.
26734 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
26737 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
26738 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
26741 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
26742 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
26745 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
26746 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
26749 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
26750 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
26753 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
26755 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
26756 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
26757 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
26758 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
26761 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
26763 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
26764 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
26765 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
26766 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
26767 the second parameter.
26769 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
26770 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
26771 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
26772 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
26773 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
26774 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
26775 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
26776 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
26777 cycle used under Unix systems.
26779 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
26783 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
26785 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
26786 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
26787 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
26788 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
26789 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
26793 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
26795 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
26796 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
26797 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
26798 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
26802 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
26804 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
26805 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
26806 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
26807 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
26809 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
26810 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
26811 message cited below.
26814 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
26817 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
26819 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
26820 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
26821 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
26822 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
26823 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
26826 (setq gnus-parameters
26828 (gnus-show-threads nil)
26829 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
26830 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
26831 (to-group . "\\1"))))
26835 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
26837 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
26841 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
26843 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
26844 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
26845 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
26846 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
26847 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
26848 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
26849 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
26850 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
26851 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
26854 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
26856 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
26857 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
26858 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
26859 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
26860 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
26861 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
26864 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
26865 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
26869 Improved anti-spam features.
26871 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
26872 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
26873 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
26874 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
26875 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
26878 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
26881 Face headers handling.
26884 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
26885 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
26888 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
26891 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
26893 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
26894 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
26895 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
26896 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
26897 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
26898 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
26899 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
26900 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
26901 when getting new mail, remove the function.
26904 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
26906 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
26907 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
26908 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
26909 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
26910 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
26911 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
26912 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
26913 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
26914 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
26915 was inserted directly.
26918 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
26920 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
26921 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
26927 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
26928 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
26929 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
26930 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
26931 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
26932 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
26933 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
26934 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
26935 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
26936 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
26937 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
26938 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
26939 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
26940 is not needed any more.
26943 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
26945 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
26946 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
26947 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
26948 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
26949 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
26953 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
26955 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
26956 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
26958 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
26959 @c CVS. We should find a better place for this item.
26961 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
26963 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
26964 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
26965 lisp directory into load-path.
26967 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
26968 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
26971 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
26973 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
26976 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
26978 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
26979 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
26980 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
26981 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
26984 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
26986 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
26988 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
26989 'bbdb-complete-name)
26993 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
26995 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
26996 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
26997 local files as external parts.
26999 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27000 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27001 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27002 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27003 that support editing.
27006 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27008 The default value is determined from the
27009 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27010 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27011 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27014 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27016 Add a new format of match like
27018 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27019 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27021 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27023 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27024 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27028 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27030 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27031 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27032 need add those two headers too.
27035 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27037 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27038 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27039 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27042 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27043 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27044 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27048 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27049 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27050 inline PGP signed messages. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27053 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27055 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27058 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27060 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27063 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27065 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27066 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27067 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27070 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27072 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27076 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27078 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27079 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27080 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27081 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27082 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27083 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27084 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27085 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27088 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27090 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27091 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27092 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27093 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27094 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27097 Extended format specs.
27099 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27100 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27101 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27102 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27103 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27104 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27107 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27109 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27110 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27111 out other articles.
27114 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27116 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27117 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27118 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27119 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27122 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27124 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27125 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27126 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27129 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27131 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27132 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27133 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27134 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27135 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27136 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27137 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27138 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27139 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27140 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27141 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27144 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27145 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27148 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27149 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27150 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27151 message, Message Manual}).
27154 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27155 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27157 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27158 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27159 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27161 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27165 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27166 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27168 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27169 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27170 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27171 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27174 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27177 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27180 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27181 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27184 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
27186 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27187 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27188 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27189 invalidate the digital signature.
27193 @subsubsection No Gnus
27196 New features in No Gnus:
27197 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27199 @include gnus-news.texi
27205 @section The Manual
27209 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27210 either @code{texi2dvi}
27212 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27213 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27215 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27217 The following conventions have been used:
27222 This is a @samp{string}
27225 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27228 This is a @file{file}
27231 This is a @code{symbol}
27235 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27239 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27242 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27245 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27248 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27249 ever get them confused.
27253 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27254 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27255 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27256 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27257 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27258 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27259 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27265 @node On Writing Manuals
27266 @section On Writing Manuals
27268 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27269 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27270 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27271 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27272 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27273 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
27276 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27277 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27278 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27281 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27282 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
27287 @section Terminology
27289 @cindex terminology
27294 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27295 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27296 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27297 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27298 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27302 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27303 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27304 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27305 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27309 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27313 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27318 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27319 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27320 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27321 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27322 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27323 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27324 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27325 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27326 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27329 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27330 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27331 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27332 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27333 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27334 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27336 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27337 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27338 access the articles.
27340 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
27341 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
27342 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
27347 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
27348 default, way of getting news.
27352 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
27353 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
27358 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
27359 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
27363 A message that has been posted as news.
27366 @cindex mail message
27367 A message that has been mailed.
27371 A mail message or news article
27375 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
27380 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
27385 A line from the head of an article.
27389 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
27390 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
27392 @item @acronym{NOV}
27393 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
27394 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
27395 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
27396 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
27397 normal @sc{head} format.
27401 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
27402 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
27403 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
27404 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
27405 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
27406 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
27408 @item killed groups
27409 @cindex killed groups
27410 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
27411 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
27413 @item zombie groups
27414 @cindex zombie groups
27415 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
27418 @cindex active file
27419 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
27420 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
27421 is rather large, as you might surmise.
27424 @cindex bogus groups
27425 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
27426 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
27427 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
27430 @cindex activating groups
27431 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
27432 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
27433 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
27437 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
27438 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
27439 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
27443 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
27445 @item select method
27446 @cindex select method
27447 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
27450 @item virtual server
27451 @cindex virtual server
27452 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
27453 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
27454 whole is a virtual server.
27458 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
27459 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
27462 @item ephemeral groups
27463 @cindex ephemeral groups
27464 @cindex temporary groups
27465 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
27466 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
27467 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
27470 @cindex solid groups
27471 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
27472 group buffer are solid groups.
27474 @item sparse articles
27475 @cindex sparse articles
27476 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
27477 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
27481 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
27482 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
27486 @cindex thread root
27487 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
27488 articles in the thread.
27492 An article that has responses.
27496 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
27500 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
27501 specified by RFC 1153.
27504 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
27505 @cindex mail sorting
27506 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
27507 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
27508 incorrectly called mail filtering.
27514 @node Customization
27515 @section Customization
27516 @cindex general customization
27518 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
27519 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
27520 for some quite common situations.
27523 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
27524 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
27525 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
27526 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
27530 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
27531 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
27533 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
27534 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
27535 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
27539 @item gnus-read-active-file
27540 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
27541 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
27542 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27543 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
27544 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
27546 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
27547 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
27548 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
27549 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
27553 @node Slow Terminal Connection
27554 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
27556 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
27557 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
27558 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
27562 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
27563 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
27564 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
27565 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
27566 horizontal and vertical recentering.
27568 @item gnus-visible-headers
27569 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
27570 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
27571 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
27572 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
27574 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
27576 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
27577 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
27578 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
27581 @item gnus-use-full-window
27582 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
27583 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
27584 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
27585 want to read them anyway.
27587 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
27588 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
27592 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
27593 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
27594 lines, which might save some time.
27598 @node Little Disk Space
27599 @subsection Little Disk Space
27602 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
27603 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
27607 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
27608 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
27609 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
27610 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
27613 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
27614 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
27615 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
27616 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
27619 @item gnus-save-killed-list
27620 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
27621 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
27622 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
27623 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
27629 @subsection Slow Machine
27630 @cindex slow machine
27632 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
27633 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
27635 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27636 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
27638 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
27639 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
27640 summary buffer faster.
27644 @node Troubleshooting
27645 @section Troubleshooting
27646 @cindex troubleshooting
27648 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
27656 Make sure your computer is switched on.
27659 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
27660 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
27664 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
27665 like @samp{T-gnus 6.17.* (based on Gnus v5.10.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
27666 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old
27667 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
27670 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
27671 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
27674 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
27675 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
27676 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
27677 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
27678 something like that.
27681 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
27684 @cindex reporting bugs
27686 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
27688 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
27689 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
27690 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
27691 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
27693 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
27694 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
27695 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
27696 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
27699 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
27700 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
27701 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
27702 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
27703 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
27704 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
27706 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
27707 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
27708 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
27712 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
27713 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
27716 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
27717 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
27718 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
27719 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
27720 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
27721 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
27722 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
27723 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
27724 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
27725 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
27726 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
27727 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
27728 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
27729 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
27734 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
27735 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
27736 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
27737 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
27738 helps isolating the real problem areas).
27740 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
27741 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
27742 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
27743 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
27744 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
27745 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
27746 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
27747 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
27748 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
27749 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
27750 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
27751 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
27752 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
27755 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
27756 @cindex ding mailing list
27757 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
27758 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
27759 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
27760 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
27764 @node Gnus Reference Guide
27765 @section Gnus Reference Guide
27767 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
27768 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
27769 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
27770 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
27773 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
27774 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
27775 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
27776 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
27777 and general methods of operation.
27780 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
27781 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
27782 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
27783 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
27784 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
27785 * Group Info:: The group info format.
27786 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
27787 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
27788 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
27792 @node Gnus Utility Functions
27793 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
27794 @cindex Gnus utility functions
27795 @cindex utility functions
27797 @cindex internal variables
27799 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
27800 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
27801 Below is a list of the most common ones.
27805 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
27806 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
27807 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
27809 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
27810 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
27811 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
27813 @item gnus-group-real-name
27814 @findex gnus-group-real-name
27815 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
27818 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
27819 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
27820 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
27821 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
27823 @item gnus-get-info
27824 @findex gnus-get-info
27825 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
27827 @item gnus-group-unread
27828 @findex gnus-group-unread
27829 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
27833 @findex gnus-active
27834 The active entry for @var{group}.
27836 @item gnus-set-active
27837 @findex gnus-set-active
27838 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
27840 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27841 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27842 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
27845 @item gnus-continuum-version
27846 @findex gnus-continuum-version
27847 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
27848 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
27851 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
27852 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
27853 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
27855 @item gnus-news-group-p
27856 @findex gnus-news-group-p
27857 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
27859 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27860 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27861 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
27863 @item gnus-server-to-method
27864 @findex gnus-server-to-method
27865 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
27867 @item gnus-server-equal
27868 @findex gnus-server-equal
27869 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
27871 @item gnus-group-native-p
27872 @findex gnus-group-native-p
27873 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
27875 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
27876 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
27877 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
27879 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
27880 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
27881 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
27883 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
27884 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
27885 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
27886 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
27888 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
27889 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
27890 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
27892 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
27893 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
27894 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
27896 @item gnus-check-backend-function
27897 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
27898 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
27899 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
27902 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
27906 @item gnus-read-method
27907 @findex gnus-read-method
27908 Prompts the user for a select method.
27913 @node Back End Interface
27914 @subsection Back End Interface
27916 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
27917 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
27918 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
27919 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
27920 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
27921 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
27923 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
27924 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
27925 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
27926 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
27927 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
27928 been opened, the function should fail.
27930 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
27931 name. Take this example:
27935 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
27936 (nntp-port-number 4324))
27939 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
27940 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
27942 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
27943 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
27944 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
27946 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
27947 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
27948 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
27950 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
27951 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
27952 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
27953 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
27954 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
27955 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
27958 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
27959 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
27960 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
27961 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
27964 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
27965 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
27966 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
27967 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
27968 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
27969 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
27970 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
27971 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
27972 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
27973 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
27975 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
27976 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
27977 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
27978 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
27979 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
27980 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
27981 of numbers as long as possible.
27983 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
27984 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
27985 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
27987 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
27990 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
27993 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
27994 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
27995 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
27996 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
27997 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
27998 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28002 @node Required Back End Functions
28003 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28007 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28009 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28010 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28011 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28012 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28014 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28015 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28016 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28017 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28019 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28020 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28021 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28022 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28023 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28024 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28025 number, do maximum fetches.
28027 Here's an example HEAD:
28030 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28031 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28032 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28033 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28034 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28035 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28036 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28038 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28039 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28040 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28044 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28045 these in the data buffer.
28047 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28051 head = error / valid-head
28052 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28053 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28054 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28055 header = <text> eol
28059 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28061 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28062 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28066 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28067 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28068 field = <text except TAB>
28071 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28075 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28077 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28078 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28080 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28081 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28082 server. In fact, it should do so.
28084 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28085 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28088 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28090 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28091 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28094 There should be no data returned.
28097 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28099 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28100 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28101 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28102 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28104 There should be no data returned.
28107 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28109 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28110 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28111 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28112 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28114 There should be no data returned.
28117 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28119 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28121 There should be no data returned.
28124 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28126 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28127 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28128 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28129 it would be nice if that were possible.
28131 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28132 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28133 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28134 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28135 into its article buffer.
28137 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28138 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28139 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28140 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28141 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28142 on successful article retrieval.
28145 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
28147 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28148 making @var{group} the current group.
28150 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28153 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28156 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28159 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28160 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28161 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28162 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28163 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28164 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28165 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28166 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28167 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28171 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28172 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28173 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28177 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28179 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28180 a no-op on most back ends.
28182 There should be no data returned.
28185 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28187 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28190 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28193 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28194 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28197 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28198 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28199 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28200 and the highest as 0.
28203 active-file = *active-line
28204 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28206 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28209 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28210 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28211 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28214 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28216 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28217 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28218 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28219 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28220 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28221 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28223 There should be no result data from this function.
28228 @node Optional Back End Functions
28229 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28233 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28235 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28236 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28237 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28239 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28240 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28241 former is in the same format as the data from
28242 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28243 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28246 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28250 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28252 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28253 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28254 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28255 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28256 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28257 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28258 the network resources).
28260 There should be no result data from this function.
28263 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28265 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28266 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28267 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28268 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28269 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28270 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28271 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28272 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28274 There should be no result data from this function.
28277 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28279 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28280 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28281 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28282 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28283 propagate the mark information to the server.
28285 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28288 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28291 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28292 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28293 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28294 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28295 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28296 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28297 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28298 possible, not limit itself to these.
28300 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
28301 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
28302 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
28303 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
28305 An example action list:
28308 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
28309 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
28310 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
28313 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
28314 mark on (currently not used for anything).
28316 There should be no result data from this function.
28318 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
28320 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
28321 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
28322 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
28323 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
28324 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
28326 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
28327 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
28328 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
28331 There should be no result data from this function.
28334 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
28336 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
28337 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
28338 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
28339 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
28340 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
28341 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
28342 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
28343 local if that's practical.
28345 There should be no result data from this function.
28348 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
28350 The result data from this function should be a description of
28354 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
28356 description = <text>
28359 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
28361 The result data from this function should be the description of all
28362 groups available on the server.
28365 description-buffer = *description-line
28369 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
28371 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
28372 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
28373 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
28374 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
28375 in the active buffer format.
28377 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
28378 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
28379 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
28380 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
28381 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
28382 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
28383 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
28386 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28388 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
28390 There should be no return data.
28393 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
28395 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
28396 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
28397 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
28398 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
28399 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
28402 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
28405 There should be no result data returned.
28408 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
28410 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
28411 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
28413 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
28414 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
28415 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
28416 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
28417 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
28418 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
28420 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
28421 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
28424 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28425 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28427 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
28428 article for that group.
28430 There should be no data returned.
28433 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
28435 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
28436 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
28437 this function in short order.
28439 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28440 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28442 There should be no data returned.
28445 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
28447 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
28448 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
28450 There should be no data returned.
28453 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
28455 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
28456 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
28457 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
28459 There should be no data returned.
28462 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
28464 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
28465 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
28467 There should be no data returned.
28472 @node Error Messaging
28473 @subsubsection Error Messaging
28475 @findex nnheader-report
28476 @findex nnheader-get-report
28477 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
28478 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
28479 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
28480 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
28481 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
28482 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
28485 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
28487 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
28490 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
28491 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
28492 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
28493 takes one argument---the server symbol.
28495 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
28496 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
28497 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
28500 @node Writing New Back Ends
28501 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
28503 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
28504 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
28505 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
28506 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
28507 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
28510 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
28511 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
28512 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
28514 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
28515 package called @code{nnoo}.
28517 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
28518 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
28524 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
28525 parameters. For instance:
28528 (nnoo-declare nndir
28532 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
28533 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
28536 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
28537 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
28538 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
28540 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
28541 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
28542 a function in those back ends.
28545 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28546 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28547 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28550 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
28551 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
28552 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
28554 @item nnoo-define-basics
28555 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
28559 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28563 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
28564 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
28565 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
28567 @item nnoo-map-functions
28568 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
28569 functions from the parent back ends.
28572 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28573 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28574 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
28577 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
28578 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
28579 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
28580 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
28583 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
28584 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
28585 haven't already been defined.
28591 nnmh-request-newgroups)
28595 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
28596 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
28597 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
28602 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
28605 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
28606 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
28610 (require 'nnheader)
28614 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
28616 (nnoo-declare nndir
28619 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28620 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28621 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28623 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
28624 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
28627 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
28629 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
28630 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
28631 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
28633 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
28634 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
28636 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
28638 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28640 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
28641 (setq nndir-directory
28642 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
28644 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
28645 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
28646 (push `(nndir-current-group
28647 ,(file-name-nondirectory
28648 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
28650 (push `(nndir-top-directory
28651 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
28653 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
28655 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28656 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28657 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28658 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
28659 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
28663 nnmh-status-message
28665 nnmh-request-newgroups))
28671 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
28672 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
28674 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
28675 @findex gnus-declare-backend
28676 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
28677 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
28678 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
28680 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
28681 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
28686 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
28689 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
28691 The abilities can be:
28695 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
28697 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
28699 This back end supports both mail and news.
28701 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
28704 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
28705 articles and groups.
28707 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
28708 true for almost all back ends.
28709 @item prompt-address
28710 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
28711 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
28712 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
28716 @node Mail-like Back Ends
28717 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
28719 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
28720 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
28721 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
28722 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
28725 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
28726 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
28727 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
28730 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
28731 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
28734 This function takes four parameters.
28738 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
28741 @item exit-function
28742 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
28744 @item temp-directory
28745 Where the temporary files should be stored.
28748 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
28749 performed for one group only.
28752 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
28753 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
28754 find the article number assigned to this article.
28756 The function also uses the following variables:
28757 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
28758 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
28759 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
28760 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
28764 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
28765 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
28769 @node Score File Syntax
28770 @subsection Score File Syntax
28772 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
28773 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
28774 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
28776 Here's a typical score file:
28780 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
28787 BNF definition of a score file:
28790 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
28791 element = rule / atom
28792 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
28793 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
28794 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
28795 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
28797 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
28798 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
28799 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
28800 date-header = "date"
28801 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28802 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28803 score = "nil" / <integer>
28804 date = "nil" / <natural number>
28805 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
28806 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
28807 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
28808 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
28809 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28810 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28811 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
28812 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28813 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
28814 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
28815 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
28816 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
28817 exclude-files / read-only / touched
28818 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
28819 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
28820 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
28821 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
28822 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
28823 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
28824 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
28825 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
28826 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
28827 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
28828 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
28829 eval = "eval" space <form>
28830 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
28833 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
28836 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
28837 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
28838 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
28839 one looong line, then that's ok.
28841 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
28842 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
28846 @subsection Headers
28848 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
28849 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
28850 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
28851 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
28853 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
28854 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
28855 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
28856 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
28857 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
28858 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
28859 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
28861 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
28862 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
28863 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
28864 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
28865 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
28867 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
28868 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
28874 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
28875 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
28877 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
28878 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
28879 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
28880 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
28882 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
28886 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
28889 is transformed into
28892 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
28895 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
28896 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
28899 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
28902 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
28903 is slightly tricky:
28906 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
28912 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
28915 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
28921 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
28928 and is equal to the previous range.
28930 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
28931 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
28932 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
28936 range = simple-range / normal-range
28937 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
28938 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
28939 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
28940 number *[ " " contents ]
28943 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
28944 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
28945 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
28946 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
28947 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
28952 @subsection Group Info
28954 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
28955 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
28956 describes the group.
28958 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
28959 second is a more complex one:
28962 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
28964 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
28965 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
28967 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
28970 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
28971 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
28972 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
28973 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
28974 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
28975 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
28976 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
28977 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
28978 this section is about.
28980 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
28981 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
28982 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
28984 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
28987 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
28988 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
28989 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28990 group = quote <string> quote
28991 ralevel = rank / level
28992 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28993 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
28994 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28996 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
28997 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
28998 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
28999 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29002 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29003 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29006 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29007 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29010 @item gnus-info-group
29011 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29012 @findex gnus-info-group
29013 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29014 Get/set the group name.
29016 @item gnus-info-rank
29017 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29018 @findex gnus-info-rank
29019 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29020 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29022 @item gnus-info-level
29023 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29024 @findex gnus-info-level
29025 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29026 Get/set the group level.
29028 @item gnus-info-score
29029 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29030 @findex gnus-info-score
29031 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29032 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29034 @item gnus-info-read
29035 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29036 @findex gnus-info-read
29037 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29038 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29040 @item gnus-info-marks
29041 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29042 @findex gnus-info-marks
29043 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29044 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29046 @item gnus-info-method
29047 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29048 @findex gnus-info-method
29049 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29050 Get/set the group select method.
29052 @item gnus-info-params
29053 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29054 @findex gnus-info-params
29055 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29056 Get/set the group parameters.
29059 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29060 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29062 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29063 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29064 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29065 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29068 @node Extended Interactive
29069 @subsection Extended Interactive
29070 @cindex interactive
29071 @findex gnus-interactive
29073 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29074 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29075 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29078 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29079 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29084 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29085 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29086 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29087 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29088 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29089 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29090 @code{interactive}.
29092 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29097 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29098 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29102 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29103 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29104 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29107 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29111 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29115 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29121 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29122 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29126 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29127 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29128 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29130 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29131 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29132 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29133 Gnus, that's very useful.
29135 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29136 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29137 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29138 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29139 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29140 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29141 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29142 following function:
29145 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29149 (,function ,@@args))
29153 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29154 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29155 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29158 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29159 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29160 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29162 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29163 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29164 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29167 @node Various File Formats
29168 @subsection Various File Formats
29171 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29172 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29176 @node Active File Format
29177 @subsubsection Active File Format
29179 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29180 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29183 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29186 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29187 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29188 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29189 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29190 no.general 1000 900 y
29193 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29196 active = *group-line
29197 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29198 group = <non-white-space string>
29200 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29201 low-number = <positive integer>
29202 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29205 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29206 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29209 @node Newsgroups File Format
29210 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29212 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29213 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29214 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29217 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29218 Here's the definition:
29222 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29223 group = <non-white-space string>
29225 description = <string>
29230 @node Emacs for Heathens
29231 @section Emacs for Heathens
29233 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29234 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29235 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29236 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29237 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29238 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29239 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29243 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29244 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29249 @subsection Keystrokes
29253 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29256 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29259 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29260 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29261 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29262 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29263 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29264 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29266 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29267 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29268 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29269 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29270 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29271 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29272 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29274 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29275 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29276 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29277 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29278 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29279 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29280 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29282 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29283 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29284 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29285 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29286 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29292 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29294 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29295 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29296 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29297 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29299 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
29300 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
29301 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
29302 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
29303 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
29304 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
29305 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
29306 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
29307 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
29308 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
29310 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
29311 write the following:
29314 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
29317 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
29318 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
29319 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
29320 change how Gnus works.
29322 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
29323 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
29324 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
29325 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
29326 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
29328 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
29329 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
29330 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
29334 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
29338 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
29341 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
29342 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
29345 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
29348 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
29349 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
29352 @include gnus-faq.texi
29372 @c Local Variables:
29374 @c coding: iso-8859-1