4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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284 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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293 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
295 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
299 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
300 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
301 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
302 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
303 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
304 License'' in the Emacs manual.
306 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
307 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
308 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
310 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
311 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
312 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
313 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
321 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
323 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
324 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
326 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
327 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
328 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
329 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
330 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
331 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
332 License'' in the Emacs manual.
334 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
335 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
336 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
338 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
339 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
340 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
341 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
349 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
352 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
353 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
355 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
357 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
358 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
359 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
360 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
361 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
362 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
363 License'' in the Emacs manual.
365 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
366 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
367 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
369 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
370 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
371 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
372 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
381 @top The gnus Newsreader
385 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
386 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
387 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
390 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
391 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
392 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
393 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
394 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
395 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
397 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
408 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
409 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
411 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
412 being accused of plagiarism:
414 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
415 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
416 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
417 can even read news with it!
419 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
420 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
421 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
422 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
423 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
429 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
430 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
431 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
432 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
433 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
434 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
435 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
436 * Various:: General purpose settings.
437 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
438 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
439 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
440 * Key Index:: Key Index.
442 Other related manuals
444 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
445 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
446 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
447 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
450 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
454 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
455 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
456 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
457 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
458 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
459 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
460 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
461 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
462 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
463 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
464 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
468 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
469 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
470 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
474 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
475 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
476 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
477 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
478 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
479 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
480 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
481 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
482 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
483 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
484 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
485 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
486 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
487 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
488 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
489 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
490 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
494 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
495 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
496 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
500 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
501 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
502 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
503 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
504 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
508 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
509 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
510 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
511 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
512 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
516 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
517 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
518 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
519 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
520 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
521 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
522 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
523 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
524 * Threading:: How threads are made.
525 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
526 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
527 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
528 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
529 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
530 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
531 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
532 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
533 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
534 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
535 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
536 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
537 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
538 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
539 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
540 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
541 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
542 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
543 or reselecting the current group.
544 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
545 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
546 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
547 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
549 Summary Buffer Format
551 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
552 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
553 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
554 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
558 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
559 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
561 Reply, Followup and Post
563 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
564 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
565 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
566 * Canceling and Superseding::
570 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
571 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
572 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
574 * Generic Marking Commands::
575 * Setting Process Marks::
579 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
580 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
581 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
585 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
586 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
588 Customizing Threading
590 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
591 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
592 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
593 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
597 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
598 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
599 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
600 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
601 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
602 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
606 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
607 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
608 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
612 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
613 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
614 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
615 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
616 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
617 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
618 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
619 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
620 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
621 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
623 Alternative Approaches
625 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
626 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
628 Various Summary Stuff
630 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
631 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
632 * Summary Generation Commands::
633 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
637 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
638 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
639 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
640 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
641 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
645 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
646 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
647 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
648 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
649 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
650 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
651 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
652 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
656 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
657 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
658 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
659 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
660 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
661 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
662 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
663 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
667 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
668 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
669 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
670 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
671 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
672 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
673 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
677 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
678 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
682 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
683 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
684 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
688 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
689 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
690 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
691 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
692 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
693 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
694 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
695 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
696 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
697 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
698 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
699 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
700 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
704 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
705 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
706 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
708 Choosing a Mail Back End
710 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
711 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
712 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
713 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
714 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
715 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
720 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
721 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
722 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
723 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
724 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
725 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
729 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
730 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
731 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
732 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
733 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
737 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
738 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
739 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
740 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
741 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
745 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
749 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
750 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
751 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
755 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
756 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
760 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
761 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
762 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
763 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
764 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
765 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
766 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
767 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
768 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
769 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
770 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
771 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
775 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
776 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
777 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
781 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
782 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
783 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
787 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
788 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
789 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
790 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
791 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
792 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
793 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
794 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
795 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
796 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
797 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
798 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
799 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
800 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
801 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
802 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
803 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
807 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
808 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
809 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
810 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
814 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
815 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
816 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
820 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
821 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
822 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
823 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
824 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
825 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
826 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
827 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
828 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
829 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
830 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
831 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
832 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
833 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
834 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
835 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
836 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
837 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
838 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
842 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
843 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
844 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
845 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
846 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
847 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
848 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
849 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
853 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
854 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
855 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
856 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
860 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
861 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
862 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
863 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
864 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
865 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
869 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
870 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
871 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
872 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
873 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
874 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
875 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
876 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
877 * Frequently Asked Questions::
881 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
882 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
883 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
884 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
885 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
886 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
887 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
888 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
889 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
893 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
894 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
895 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
896 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
897 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
901 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
902 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
903 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
904 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
908 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
909 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
910 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
911 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
912 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
913 * Group Info:: The group info format.
914 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
915 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
916 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
920 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
921 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
922 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
923 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
924 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
925 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
929 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
930 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
934 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
935 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
941 @chapter Starting gnus
946 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
947 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
950 @findex gnus-other-frame
951 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
952 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
953 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
955 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
956 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
957 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
959 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
960 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
963 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
964 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
965 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
966 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
967 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
968 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
969 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
970 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
971 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
972 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
973 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
977 @node Finding the News
978 @section Finding the News
981 @vindex gnus-select-method
983 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
984 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
985 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
986 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
989 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
990 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
993 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
996 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
999 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1002 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1003 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1004 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1006 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1008 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1009 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1010 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1011 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1012 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1013 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1015 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1016 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1017 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1018 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1020 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1021 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1022 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1023 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1024 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1025 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1026 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1027 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1028 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1031 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1033 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1034 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1035 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1036 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1037 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1038 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1040 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1042 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1043 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1044 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1045 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1046 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1047 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1050 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1051 you would typically set this variable to
1054 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1058 @node The First Time
1059 @section The First Time
1060 @cindex first time usage
1062 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1063 be subscribed by default.
1065 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1066 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1067 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1068 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1071 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1072 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1073 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1075 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1076 help you with most common problems.
1078 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1079 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1083 @node The Server is Down
1084 @section The Server is Down
1085 @cindex server errors
1087 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1088 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1089 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1091 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1092 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1093 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1094 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1095 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1096 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1097 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1099 @findex gnus-no-server
1100 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1102 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1103 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1104 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1105 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1106 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1107 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1108 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1112 @section Slave Gnusae
1115 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1116 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1117 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1118 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1120 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1121 @file{.newsrc} file.
1123 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1124 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1125 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1126 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1127 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1128 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1129 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1132 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1133 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1134 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1135 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1136 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1137 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1138 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1139 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1141 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1142 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1144 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1145 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1146 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1147 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1148 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1150 @node Fetching a Group
1151 @section Fetching a Group
1152 @cindex fetching a group
1154 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1155 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1156 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1157 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1158 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1159 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1165 @cindex subscription
1167 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1168 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1169 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1170 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1171 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1172 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1173 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1174 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1175 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1178 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1179 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1180 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1184 @node Checking New Groups
1185 @subsection Checking New Groups
1187 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1188 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1189 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1190 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1191 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1192 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1193 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1194 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1195 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1196 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1198 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1199 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1200 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1201 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1202 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1203 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1204 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1205 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1206 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1207 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1208 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1210 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1211 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1212 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1213 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1214 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1215 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1218 @node Subscription Methods
1219 @subsection Subscription Methods
1221 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1222 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1223 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1225 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1226 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1228 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1234 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1235 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1236 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1240 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1241 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1245 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1249 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1250 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1251 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1252 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1253 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1254 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1255 up. Or something like that.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1259 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1260 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1261 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1263 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1264 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1265 Kill all new groups.
1267 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1269 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1270 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1271 topic parameter that looks like
1277 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1280 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1285 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1286 A closely related variable is
1287 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1288 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1289 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1290 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1293 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1294 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1295 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1296 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1299 @node Filtering New Groups
1300 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1302 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1303 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1304 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1307 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1310 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1311 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1312 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1313 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1314 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1315 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1316 subscribing these groups.
1317 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1318 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1320 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1321 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1322 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1323 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1324 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1325 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1326 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1327 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1329 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1330 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1331 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1332 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1333 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1334 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1335 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1336 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1337 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1338 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1341 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1342 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1345 @node Changing Servers
1346 @section Changing Servers
1347 @cindex changing servers
1349 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1350 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1351 very flaky and you want to use another.
1353 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1354 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1358 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1359 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1360 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1361 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1364 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1365 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1366 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1367 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1369 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1370 @findex gnus-change-server
1371 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1372 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1373 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1374 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1375 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1377 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1378 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1379 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1380 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1381 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1383 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1384 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1385 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1386 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1387 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1388 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1390 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1391 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1392 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1393 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1395 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1396 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1397 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1398 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1399 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1400 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1401 cache for all groups).
1405 @section Startup Files
1406 @cindex startup files
1411 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1412 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1414 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1415 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1416 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1417 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1418 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1419 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1420 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1422 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1423 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1424 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1425 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1426 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1427 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1429 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1430 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1431 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1432 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1433 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1434 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1435 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1436 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1437 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1438 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1440 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1441 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1442 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1443 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1444 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1445 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1446 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1447 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1448 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1449 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1450 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1451 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1453 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1454 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1455 @vindex version-control
1456 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1457 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1458 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1459 If you want version control for this file, set
1460 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1461 @code{version-control} variable.
1463 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1464 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1465 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1466 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1467 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1468 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1469 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1470 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1471 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1472 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1475 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1476 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1478 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1479 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1482 @vindex gnus-init-file
1483 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1484 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1485 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1486 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1487 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1488 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1489 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1490 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1491 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1492 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1498 @cindex dribble file
1501 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1502 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1503 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1504 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1505 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1508 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1509 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1512 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1513 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1514 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1516 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1517 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1518 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1519 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1520 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1521 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1523 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1524 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1525 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1528 @node The Active File
1529 @section The Active File
1531 @cindex ignored groups
1533 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1534 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1535 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1537 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1538 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1539 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1540 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1541 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1542 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1543 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1546 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1547 @c if you set it to anything else.
1549 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1551 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1552 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1553 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1555 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1556 you actually subscribe to.
1558 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1559 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1560 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1561 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1563 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1564 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1565 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1566 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1567 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1568 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1570 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1571 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1572 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1575 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1576 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1577 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1578 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1579 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1580 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1582 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1583 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1585 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1586 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1588 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1589 secondary select methods.
1592 @node Startup Variables
1593 @section Startup Variables
1597 @item gnus-load-hook
1598 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1599 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1600 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1601 times you start gnus.
1603 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1604 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1605 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1607 @item gnus-startup-hook
1608 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1609 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1611 @item gnus-started-hook
1612 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1613 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1616 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1617 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1618 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1619 generating the group buffer.
1621 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1622 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1623 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1624 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1625 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1626 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1627 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1628 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1630 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1631 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1632 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1633 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1634 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1635 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1637 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1638 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1639 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1641 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1642 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1643 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1645 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1646 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1647 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1648 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1654 @chapter Group Buffer
1655 @cindex group buffer
1657 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1659 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1660 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1661 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1662 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1663 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1664 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1665 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1666 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1667 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1668 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1669 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1670 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1671 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1672 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1673 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1674 @c human rights at 9...
1677 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1678 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1679 long as gnus is active.
1683 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1684 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1685 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1686 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1687 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1688 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1689 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1690 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1696 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1697 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1698 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1699 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1700 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1701 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1702 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1703 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1704 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1705 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1706 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1707 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1708 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1709 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1710 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1711 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1712 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1716 @node Group Buffer Format
1717 @section Group Buffer Format
1720 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1721 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1722 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1726 @node Group Line Specification
1727 @subsection Group Line Specification
1728 @cindex group buffer format
1730 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1731 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1733 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1736 25: news.announce.newusers
1737 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1742 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1743 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1744 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1745 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1747 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1748 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1749 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1750 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1751 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1752 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1754 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1756 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1757 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1758 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1759 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1760 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1762 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1763 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1764 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1766 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1771 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1774 Whether the group is subscribed.
1777 Level of subscribedness.
1780 Number of unread articles.
1783 Number of dormant articles.
1786 Number of ticked articles.
1789 Number of read articles.
1792 Number of unseen articles.
1795 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1796 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1798 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1799 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1800 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1801 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1802 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1803 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1804 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1805 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1808 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1811 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1820 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1821 comment element in the group parameters.
1824 Newsgroup description.
1827 @samp{m} if moderated.
1830 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1836 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1842 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1846 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1849 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1850 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1851 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1852 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1853 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1856 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1858 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1862 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1865 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1869 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1870 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1871 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1872 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1873 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1874 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1879 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1880 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1881 group, or a bogus native group.
1884 @node Group Modeline Specification
1885 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1886 @cindex group modeline
1888 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1889 The mode line can be changed by setting
1890 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1891 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1895 The native news server.
1897 The native select method.
1901 @node Group Highlighting
1902 @subsection Group Highlighting
1903 @cindex highlighting
1904 @cindex group highlighting
1906 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1907 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1908 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1909 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1910 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1912 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1916 (cond (window-system
1917 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1918 (defface my-group-face-1
1919 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1920 (defface my-group-face-2
1921 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1922 (defface my-group-face-3
1923 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1924 (defface my-group-face-4
1925 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1926 (defface my-group-face-5
1927 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1929 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1930 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1931 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1932 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1933 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1934 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1937 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1939 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1946 The number of unread articles in the group.
1950 Whether the group is a mail group.
1952 The level of the group.
1954 The score of the group.
1956 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1958 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1959 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1961 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1962 topic being inserted.
1965 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1966 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1967 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1969 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1970 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1971 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1972 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1973 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1976 @node Group Maneuvering
1977 @section Group Maneuvering
1978 @cindex group movement
1980 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1981 expected, hopefully.
1987 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1988 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1989 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1996 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1997 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2001 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2002 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2006 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2007 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2011 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2012 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2013 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2017 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2018 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2019 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2022 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2028 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2029 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2030 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2035 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2036 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2037 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2042 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2043 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2046 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2047 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2048 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2049 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2053 @node Selecting a Group
2054 @section Selecting a Group
2055 @cindex group selection
2060 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2061 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2062 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2063 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2064 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2065 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2066 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2067 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2068 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2069 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2071 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2072 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2073 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2075 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2076 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2081 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2082 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2083 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2084 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2085 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2089 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2090 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2091 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2092 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2093 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2094 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2095 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2096 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2097 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2098 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2101 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2102 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2103 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2104 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2105 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2108 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2109 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2110 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2111 doing any processing of its contents
2112 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2113 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2114 manner will have no permanent effects.
2118 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2119 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2120 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2121 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2122 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2123 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2124 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2125 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2128 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2129 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2130 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2131 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2132 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2133 Which article this is is controlled by the
2134 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2140 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2143 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2146 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2148 @item unseen-or-unread
2149 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2150 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2154 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2158 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2159 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2161 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2162 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2163 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2164 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2168 @node Subscription Commands
2169 @section Subscription Commands
2170 @cindex subscription
2178 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2179 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2180 Toggle subscription to the current group
2181 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2187 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2188 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2189 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2190 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2197 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2198 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2204 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2205 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2208 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2209 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2210 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2211 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2212 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2218 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2219 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2223 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2224 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2227 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2228 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2229 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2230 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2231 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2232 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2233 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2234 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2235 @file{.newsrc} file.
2239 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2249 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2250 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2251 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2252 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2253 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2254 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2259 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2260 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2261 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2265 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2266 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2267 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2269 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2270 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2271 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2272 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2273 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2274 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2281 @section Group Levels
2285 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2286 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2287 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2288 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2289 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2291 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2297 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2298 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2299 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2300 prompted for a level.
2303 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2304 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2305 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2306 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2307 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2308 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2309 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2310 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2311 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2312 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2313 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2314 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2315 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2316 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2317 reasons of efficiency.
2319 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2320 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2322 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2323 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2324 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2325 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2326 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2327 groups are hidden, in a way.
2329 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2330 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2331 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2332 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2333 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2334 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2336 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2337 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2338 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2339 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2340 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2341 list of killed groups.)
2343 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2344 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2345 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2347 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2348 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2349 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2350 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2351 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2352 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2353 relevant valid ranges.
2355 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2356 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2357 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2358 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2359 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2360 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2363 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2364 one with the best level.
2366 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2367 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2368 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2371 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2372 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2373 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2374 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2377 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2378 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2379 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2380 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2382 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2383 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2384 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2385 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2386 to 5. The default is 6.
2390 @section Group Score
2395 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2396 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2397 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2400 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2401 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2402 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2403 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2404 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2405 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2406 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2407 least significant part.))
2409 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2410 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2411 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2412 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2413 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2414 action after each summary exit, you can add
2415 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2416 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2417 slow things down somewhat.
2420 @node Marking Groups
2421 @section Marking Groups
2422 @cindex marking groups
2424 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2425 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2426 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2427 bidding on those groups.
2429 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2430 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2431 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2440 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2446 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2447 Remove the mark from the current group
2448 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2452 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2453 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2457 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2458 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2462 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2463 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2467 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2468 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2469 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2472 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2474 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2475 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2476 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2477 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2478 the command to be executed.
2481 @node Foreign Groups
2482 @section Foreign Groups
2483 @cindex foreign groups
2485 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2486 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2487 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2488 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2495 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2496 @cindex making groups
2497 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2498 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2499 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2503 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2504 @cindex renaming groups
2505 Rename the current group to something else
2506 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2507 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2513 @findex gnus-group-customize
2514 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2518 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2519 @cindex renaming groups
2520 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2521 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2526 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2527 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2531 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2532 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2533 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2539 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2540 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2545 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2546 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2550 @cindex (ding) archive
2551 @cindex archive group
2552 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2553 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2554 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2555 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2556 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2557 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2558 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2562 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2564 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2565 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2566 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2567 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2571 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2573 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2574 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2575 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2579 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2580 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2582 Make a group based on some file or other
2583 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2584 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2585 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2586 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2587 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2588 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2589 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2590 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2591 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2595 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2596 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2597 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2598 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2602 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2606 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2607 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2608 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2609 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2610 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2611 @xref{Web Searches}.
2613 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2614 to a particular group by using a match string like
2615 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2618 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2619 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2620 This function will delete the current group
2621 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2622 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2623 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2624 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2625 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2629 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2630 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2631 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2635 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2636 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2637 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2640 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2643 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2644 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2645 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2646 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2647 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2648 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2652 @node Group Parameters
2653 @section Group Parameters
2654 @cindex group parameters
2656 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2657 Here's an example group parameter list:
2660 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2664 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2665 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2666 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2667 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2669 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2670 is an alist of regexps and values.
2672 The following group parameters can be used:
2677 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2680 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2683 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2684 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2685 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2686 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2687 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2689 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2690 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2691 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2692 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2693 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2694 list address instead.
2696 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2700 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2703 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2706 It is totally ignored
2707 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2708 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2710 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2711 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2712 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2713 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2714 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2716 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2717 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2718 sending the message.
2720 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2721 @cindex Mail List Groups
2722 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2723 entering summary buffer.
2725 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2730 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2731 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2732 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2733 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2734 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2735 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2737 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2738 directly uses this group parameter.
2742 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2743 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2744 of whether it has any unread articles.
2746 @item broken-reply-to
2747 @cindex broken-reply-to
2748 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2749 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2750 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2751 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2752 broken behavior. So there!
2756 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2757 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2761 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2762 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2763 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2768 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2769 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2770 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2771 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2772 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2773 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2774 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2775 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2776 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2780 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2781 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2782 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2784 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2787 @cindex total-expire
2788 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2789 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2790 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2791 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2794 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2798 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2799 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2800 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2801 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2802 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2803 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2804 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2807 @cindex score file group parameter
2808 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2809 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2810 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2813 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2814 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2815 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2816 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2819 @cindex admin-address
2820 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2821 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2822 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2823 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2827 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2828 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2832 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2835 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2836 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2839 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2843 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2845 Here are some examples:
2849 Display only unread articles.
2852 Display everything except expirable articles.
2854 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2855 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2859 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2860 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2861 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2862 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2863 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2867 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2868 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2869 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2873 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2874 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2875 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2879 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2880 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2881 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2883 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2885 @item ignored-charsets
2886 @cindex ignored-charset
2887 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2888 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2889 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2891 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2894 @cindex posting-style
2895 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2896 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2897 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2898 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2899 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2901 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2902 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2903 like this in the group parameters:
2908 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2909 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2914 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2915 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2919 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2920 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2921 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2922 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2923 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2927 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2928 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2929 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2930 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2932 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2933 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2934 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2935 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2938 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2939 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2943 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2946 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2947 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2948 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2949 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2950 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2951 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2952 @code{eval}ed there.
2954 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2955 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2956 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2957 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2958 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2959 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2960 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2961 parameters for the group.
2964 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2965 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2966 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2967 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2968 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2972 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2973 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2974 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2975 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2976 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2978 @vindex gnus-parameters
2979 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2980 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2984 (setq gnus-parameters
2986 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2987 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2988 (gnus-summary-line-format
2989 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2993 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2997 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3001 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3004 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3005 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3008 @node Listing Groups
3009 @section Listing Groups
3010 @cindex group listing
3012 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3020 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3021 List all groups that have unread articles
3022 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3023 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3024 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3025 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3032 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3033 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3034 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3035 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3036 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3037 unsubscribed groups).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3042 List all unread groups on a specific level
3043 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3044 with no unread articles.
3048 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3049 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3050 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3051 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3056 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3057 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3061 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3062 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3063 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3067 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3068 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3072 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3073 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3074 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3075 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3076 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3077 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3078 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3079 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3083 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3084 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3085 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3089 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3090 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3091 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3095 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3096 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3100 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3101 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3105 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3106 List groups limited within the current selection
3107 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3111 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3112 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3116 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3117 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3121 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3122 @cindex visible group parameter
3123 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3124 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3125 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3126 get the same effect.
3128 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3129 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3130 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3131 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3132 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3135 @node Sorting Groups
3136 @section Sorting Groups
3137 @cindex sorting groups
3139 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3141 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3142 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3143 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3144 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3149 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3150 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3151 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3153 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3154 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3155 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3157 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3159 Sort by group level.
3161 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3162 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3163 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3165 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3166 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3167 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3168 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3170 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3172 Sort by number of unread articles.
3174 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3175 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3176 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3178 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3179 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3180 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3185 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3186 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3190 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3191 some sorting criteria:
3195 @kindex G S a (Group)
3196 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3197 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3198 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3201 @kindex G S u (Group)
3202 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3203 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3204 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3207 @kindex G S l (Group)
3208 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3209 Sort the group buffer by group level
3210 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3213 @kindex G S v (Group)
3214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3215 Sort the group buffer by group score
3216 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3219 @kindex G S r (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3221 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3222 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3225 @kindex G S m (Group)
3226 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3227 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3228 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3231 @kindex G S n (Group)
3232 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3233 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3234 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3238 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3239 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3241 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3242 commands will sort in reverse order.
3244 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3248 @kindex G P a (Group)
3249 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3250 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3251 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3254 @kindex G P u (Group)
3255 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3256 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3257 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3260 @kindex G P l (Group)
3261 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3262 Sort the groups by group level
3263 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3266 @kindex G P v (Group)
3267 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3268 Sort the groups by group score
3269 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3272 @kindex G P r (Group)
3273 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3274 Sort the groups by group rank
3275 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3278 @kindex G P m (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3280 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3281 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3284 @kindex G P n (Group)
3285 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3286 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3287 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3290 @kindex G P s (Group)
3291 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3292 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3296 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3300 @node Group Maintenance
3301 @section Group Maintenance
3302 @cindex bogus groups
3307 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3308 Find bogus groups and delete them
3309 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3313 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3314 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3315 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3316 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3317 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3321 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3322 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3323 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3324 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3325 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3326 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3329 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3330 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3331 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3332 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3337 @node Browse Foreign Server
3338 @section Browse Foreign Server
3339 @cindex foreign servers
3340 @cindex browsing servers
3345 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3346 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3347 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3348 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3351 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3352 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3353 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3354 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3356 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3361 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3362 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3366 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3367 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3370 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3371 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3372 Enter the current group and display the first article
3373 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3376 @kindex RET (Browse)
3377 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3378 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3382 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3383 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3384 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3390 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3391 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3395 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3396 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3400 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3401 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3402 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3407 @section Exiting gnus
3408 @cindex exiting gnus
3410 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3415 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3416 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3417 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3418 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3422 @findex gnus-group-exit
3423 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3424 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3428 @findex gnus-group-quit
3429 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3430 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3433 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3434 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3435 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3436 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3437 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3438 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3443 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3444 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3445 trying to customize meta-variables.
3450 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3451 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3452 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3458 @section Group Topics
3461 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3462 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3463 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3464 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3465 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3466 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3470 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3471 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3482 2: alt.religion.emacs
3485 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3487 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3488 13: comp.sources.unix
3491 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3493 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3494 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3495 is a toggling command.)
3497 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3498 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3499 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3500 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3503 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3504 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3505 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3508 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3512 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3513 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3514 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3515 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3516 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3520 @node Topic Commands
3521 @subsection Topic Commands
3522 @cindex topic commands
3524 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3525 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3526 definitions slightly.
3528 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3529 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3530 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3531 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3532 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3533 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3535 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3542 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3543 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3544 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3548 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3550 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3551 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3552 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3553 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3556 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3557 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3558 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3559 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3563 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3564 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3565 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3566 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3572 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3573 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3574 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3578 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3579 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3580 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3583 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3584 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3585 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3586 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3587 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3589 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3590 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3594 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3595 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3602 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3604 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3605 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3606 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3607 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3608 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3609 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3613 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3619 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3620 Move the current group to some other topic
3621 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3622 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3626 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3627 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3631 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3632 Copy the current group to some other topic
3633 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3634 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3638 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3639 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3640 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3644 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3645 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3646 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3650 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3651 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3652 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3653 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3654 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3655 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3656 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3659 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3660 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3664 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3665 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3666 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3670 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3671 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3672 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3676 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3677 Toggle hiding empty topics
3678 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3682 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3683 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3684 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3685 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3688 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3689 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3690 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3691 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3692 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3695 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3696 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3697 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3698 expiry process (if any)
3699 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3703 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3704 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3707 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3709 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3713 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3714 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3715 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3718 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3719 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3720 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3723 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3724 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3725 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3729 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3730 @cindex group parameters
3731 @cindex topic parameters
3733 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3734 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3739 @node Topic Variables
3740 @subsection Topic Variables
3741 @cindex topic variables
3743 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3744 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3746 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3747 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3748 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3761 Number of groups in the topic.
3763 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3765 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3768 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3769 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3770 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3773 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3774 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3776 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3777 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3778 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3782 @subsection Topic Sorting
3783 @cindex topic sorting
3785 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3791 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3792 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3793 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3794 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3797 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3798 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3799 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3803 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3804 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3805 Sort the current topic by group level
3806 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3809 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3810 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3811 Sort the current topic by group score
3812 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3815 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3816 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3817 Sort the current topic by group rank
3818 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3821 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3822 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3823 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3824 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3827 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3828 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3829 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3830 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3834 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3835 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3836 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3837 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3841 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3842 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3846 @node Topic Topology
3847 @subsection Topic Topology
3848 @cindex topic topology
3851 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3857 2: alt.religion.emacs
3860 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3862 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3863 13: comp.sources.unix
3866 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3867 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3868 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3873 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3874 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3878 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3879 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3880 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3881 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3882 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3883 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3885 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3886 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3887 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3890 @node Topic Parameters
3891 @subsection Topic Parameters
3892 @cindex topic parameters
3894 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3895 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3896 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3898 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3903 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3904 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3905 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3908 @item subscribe-level
3909 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3910 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3911 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3915 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3916 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3917 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3918 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3924 2: alt.religion.emacs
3928 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3930 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3931 13: comp.sources.unix
3935 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3936 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3937 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3938 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3939 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3940 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3942 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3943 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3944 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3945 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3946 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3948 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3949 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3950 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3951 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3952 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3953 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3954 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3955 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3958 @node Misc Group Stuff
3959 @section Misc Group Stuff
3962 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3963 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3964 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3965 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3966 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3973 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3974 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3975 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3979 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3980 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3981 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3982 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3983 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3984 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3985 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3989 @findex gnus-group-mail
3990 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3991 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3992 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3993 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3997 @findex gnus-group-news
3998 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3999 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4000 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4002 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4003 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
4004 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4005 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4006 for this to work though.
4010 Variables for the group buffer:
4014 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4015 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4016 is called after the group buffer has been
4019 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4020 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4021 is called after the group buffer is
4022 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4025 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4026 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4027 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4028 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4030 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4031 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4032 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4033 whether they are empty or not.
4035 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4036 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4037 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4038 non-ASCII group names.
4042 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4043 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4046 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4047 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4048 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4049 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4050 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4051 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4056 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4057 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4062 @node Scanning New Messages
4063 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4064 @cindex new messages
4065 @cindex scanning new news
4071 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4072 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4073 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4074 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4075 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4076 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4081 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4082 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4083 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4084 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4085 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4086 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4087 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4089 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4090 @cindex activating groups
4092 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4093 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4098 @findex gnus-group-restart
4099 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4100 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4101 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4105 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4106 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4108 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4109 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4113 @node Group Information
4114 @subsection Group Information
4115 @cindex group information
4116 @cindex information on groups
4123 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4124 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4127 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4128 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4129 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4130 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4131 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4132 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4133 for fetching the file.
4135 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4136 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4140 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4141 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4143 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4144 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4147 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4148 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4149 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4153 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4154 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4155 @cindex control message
4156 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4157 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4158 group if given a prefix argument.
4160 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4161 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4162 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4163 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4165 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4166 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4167 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4171 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4173 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4174 @cindex describing groups
4175 @cindex group description
4176 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4177 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4178 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4182 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4183 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4184 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4191 @findex gnus-version
4192 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4196 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4197 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4200 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4203 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4204 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4208 @node Group Timestamp
4209 @subsection Group Timestamp
4211 @cindex group timestamps
4213 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4214 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4215 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4218 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4221 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4223 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4224 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4227 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4228 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4231 This will result in lines looking like:
4234 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4235 0: custom 19961002T012713
4238 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4239 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4243 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4244 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4247 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4248 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4252 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4253 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4254 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4255 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4257 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4263 @subsection File Commands
4264 @cindex file commands
4270 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4271 @vindex gnus-init-file
4272 @cindex reading init file
4273 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4274 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4278 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4279 @cindex saving .newsrc
4280 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4281 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4282 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4285 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4286 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4287 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4292 @node Sieve Commands
4293 @subsection Sieve Commands
4294 @cindex group sieve commands
4296 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4297 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4298 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4299 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4300 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4302 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4303 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4304 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4305 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4306 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4307 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4308 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4309 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4310 regenerate the Sieve script.
4312 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4313 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4314 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4315 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4316 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4317 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4318 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4319 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4320 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4321 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4324 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4325 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4330 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4336 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4337 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4338 @cindex generating sieve script
4339 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4340 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4344 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4345 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4346 @cindex updating sieve script
4347 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4348 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4349 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4354 @node Summary Buffer
4355 @chapter Summary Buffer
4356 @cindex summary buffer
4358 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4359 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4361 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4362 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4364 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4367 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4368 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4369 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4370 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4371 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4372 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4373 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4374 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4375 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4376 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4377 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4378 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4379 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4380 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4381 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4382 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4383 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4384 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4385 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4386 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4387 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4388 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4389 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4390 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4391 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4392 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4393 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4394 or reselecting the current group.
4395 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4396 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4397 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4398 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4402 @node Summary Buffer Format
4403 @section Summary Buffer Format
4404 @cindex summary buffer format
4408 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4409 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4410 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4416 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4417 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4418 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4419 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4422 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4423 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4424 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4425 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4426 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4427 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4428 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4429 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4430 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4431 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4432 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4433 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4434 other function instead:
4437 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4438 'mail-extract-address-components)
4441 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4442 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4443 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4444 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4447 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4448 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4450 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4451 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4452 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4453 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4454 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4456 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4457 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4458 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4459 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4460 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4461 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4463 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4465 The following format specification characters and extended format
4466 specification(s) are understood:
4472 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4473 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4475 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4476 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4477 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4479 Full @code{From} header.
4481 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4483 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4486 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4487 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4488 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4489 may be more thorough.
4491 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4494 Number of lines in the article.
4496 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4497 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4499 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4500 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4502 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4504 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4505 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4518 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4519 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4520 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4523 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4524 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4525 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4526 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4528 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4529 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4530 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4531 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4533 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4534 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4535 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4537 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4538 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4539 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4541 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4542 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4543 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4545 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4546 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4547 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4552 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4553 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4555 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4556 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4558 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4559 for adopted articles.
4561 One space for each thread level.
4563 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4565 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4568 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4569 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4570 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4573 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4575 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4576 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4577 default level. If the difference between
4578 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4579 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4587 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4589 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4595 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4596 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4598 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4599 article has any children.
4605 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4606 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4608 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4609 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4610 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4611 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4612 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4613 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4616 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4617 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4618 There can only be one such area.
4620 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4621 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4622 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4623 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4624 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4625 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4627 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4628 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4630 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4633 @node To From Newsgroups
4634 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4638 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4639 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4640 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4641 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4642 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4646 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4647 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4648 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4652 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4653 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4656 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4657 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4660 @findex gnus-extra-header
4661 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4662 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4663 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4666 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4670 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4671 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4672 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4673 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4674 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4675 headers are used instead.
4679 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4680 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4681 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files.
4682 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4683 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4684 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4687 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4688 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4689 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4690 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4692 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4696 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4698 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4699 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4700 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4701 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4705 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4708 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4709 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4712 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4713 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4714 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4720 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4721 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4724 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4725 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4727 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4728 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4729 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4730 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4732 Here are the elements you can play with:
4738 Unprefixed group name.
4740 Current article number.
4742 Current article score.
4746 Number of unread articles in this group.
4748 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4751 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4752 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4753 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4754 and no unselected ones.
4756 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4757 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4759 Subject of the current article.
4761 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4763 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4765 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4767 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4769 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4771 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4775 @node Summary Highlighting
4776 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4780 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4781 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4782 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4783 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4784 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4786 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4787 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4788 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4789 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4791 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4792 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4793 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4794 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4796 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4797 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4798 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4799 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4800 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4801 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4804 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4805 ((> score default) . bold))
4807 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4808 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4812 @node Summary Maneuvering
4813 @section Summary Maneuvering
4814 @cindex summary movement
4816 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4817 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4819 None of these commands select articles.
4824 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4825 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4826 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4827 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4828 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4832 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4833 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4834 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4835 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4836 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4839 @kindex G g (Summary)
4840 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4841 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4842 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4845 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4846 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4847 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4848 to the group buffer.
4850 Variables related to summary movement:
4854 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4855 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4856 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4857 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4858 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4859 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4860 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4861 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4862 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4863 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4864 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4865 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4866 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4867 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4869 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4870 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4871 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4872 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4873 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4874 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4875 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4877 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4879 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4880 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4881 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4882 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4883 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4885 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4886 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4887 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4888 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4889 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4890 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4891 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4892 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4895 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4896 the given number of lines from the top.
4901 @node Choosing Articles
4902 @section Choosing Articles
4903 @cindex selecting articles
4906 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4907 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4911 @node Choosing Commands
4912 @subsection Choosing Commands
4914 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4915 and they all select and display an article.
4917 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4918 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4922 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4923 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4924 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4925 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4927 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4928 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4929 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4934 @kindex G n (Summary)
4935 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4936 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4937 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4942 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4943 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4944 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4949 @kindex G N (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4951 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4956 @kindex G P (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4958 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4961 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4963 Go to the next article with the same subject
4964 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4967 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4969 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4970 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4974 @kindex G f (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4977 Go to the first unread article
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4982 @kindex G b (Summary)
4984 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4985 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4986 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4987 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4992 @kindex G l (Summary)
4993 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4994 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4997 @kindex G o (Summary)
4998 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5000 @cindex article history
5001 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5002 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5003 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5004 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5005 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5006 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5011 @kindex G j (Summary)
5012 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5013 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5014 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5019 @node Choosing Variables
5020 @subsection Choosing Variables
5022 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5025 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5026 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5027 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5028 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5029 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5030 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5032 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5033 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5034 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5035 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5036 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5037 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5039 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5040 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5041 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5042 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5043 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5044 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5045 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5046 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5047 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5048 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5049 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5050 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5051 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5052 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5057 @node Paging the Article
5058 @section Scrolling the Article
5059 @cindex article scrolling
5064 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5065 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5066 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5067 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5068 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5070 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5071 If the rest of the article consists only of citations and signature,
5072 then it will be skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You
5073 can customize what is considered uninteresting with
5074 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}, or set it to @code{nil} to disable
5075 this feature. You can manually view the article's pages, no matter how
5076 boring, using @kbd{C-v} in the article buffer.
5079 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5081 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5084 @kindex RET (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5086 Scroll the current article one line forward
5087 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5090 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5091 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5092 Scroll the current article one line backward
5093 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5097 @kindex A g (Summary)
5099 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5100 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5101 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5102 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5103 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5104 the way it came from the server.
5106 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5107 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5108 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5111 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5116 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5121 @kindex A < (Summary)
5122 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5123 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5124 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5129 @kindex A > (Summary)
5130 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5131 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5135 @kindex A s (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5138 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5139 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5143 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5144 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5149 @node Reply Followup and Post
5150 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5153 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5154 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5155 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5156 * Canceling and Superseding::
5160 @node Summary Mail Commands
5161 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5163 @cindex composing mail
5165 Commands for composing a mail message:
5171 @kindex S r (Summary)
5173 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5174 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5175 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5176 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5177 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5182 @kindex S R (Summary)
5183 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5184 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5185 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5186 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5187 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5190 @kindex S w (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5192 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5193 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5194 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5195 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5198 @kindex S W (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5200 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5201 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5202 the process/prefix convention.
5205 @kindex S v (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5207 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5208 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5209 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5210 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5211 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5214 @kindex S V (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5216 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5217 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5218 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5221 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5223 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5224 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5227 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5228 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5229 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5230 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5231 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5235 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5236 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5238 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5239 Forward the current article to some other person
5240 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5241 headers of the forwarded article.
5246 @kindex S m (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5248 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5249 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5250 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5251 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5256 @kindex S i (Summary)
5257 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5258 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5259 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5260 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5262 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5263 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5264 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5265 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5266 for this to work though.
5269 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5270 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5271 @cindex bouncing mail
5272 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5273 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5274 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5275 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5276 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5277 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5278 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5279 very well fail, though.
5282 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5284 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5285 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5286 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5287 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5288 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5289 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5290 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5291 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5293 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5294 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5295 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5296 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5297 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5299 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5300 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5303 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5305 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5306 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5307 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5310 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5312 @cindex crossposting
5313 @cindex excessive crossposting
5314 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5315 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5317 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5318 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5319 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5320 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5321 command understands the process/prefix convention
5322 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5326 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5327 Manual}, for more information.
5330 @node Summary Post Commands
5331 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5333 @cindex composing news
5335 Commands for posting a news article:
5341 @kindex S p (Summary)
5342 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5343 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5344 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5345 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5346 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5351 @kindex S f (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5353 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5354 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5358 @kindex S F (Summary)
5360 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5361 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5362 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5363 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5364 process/prefix convention.
5367 @kindex S n (Summary)
5368 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5369 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5370 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5373 @kindex S N (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5375 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5376 message through mail and include the original message
5377 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5378 the process/prefix convention.
5381 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5382 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5383 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5384 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5385 headers of the forwarded article.
5388 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5389 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5391 @cindex making digests
5392 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5393 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5394 process/prefix convention.
5397 @kindex S u (Summary)
5398 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5399 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5400 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5401 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5404 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5405 Manual}, for more information.
5408 @node Summary Message Commands
5409 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5413 @kindex S y (Summary)
5414 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5415 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5416 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5417 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5418 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5423 @node Canceling and Superseding
5424 @subsection Canceling Articles
5425 @cindex canceling articles
5426 @cindex superseding articles
5428 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5429 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5431 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5433 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5435 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5436 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5437 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5438 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5439 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5440 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5442 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5443 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5446 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5447 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5448 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5450 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5451 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5452 your original article.
5454 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5456 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5457 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5458 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5461 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5462 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5463 have posted almost the same article twice.
5465 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5466 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5467 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5468 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5469 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5470 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5471 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5472 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5473 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5474 canceled/superseded.
5476 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5478 @node Delayed Articles
5479 @section Delayed Articles
5480 @cindex delayed sending
5481 @cindex send delayed
5483 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5484 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5485 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5486 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5489 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5492 @findex gnus-delay-article
5493 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5494 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5495 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5496 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5500 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5501 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5502 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5503 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5506 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5507 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5508 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5511 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5512 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5513 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5514 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5515 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5516 that means a time tomorrow.
5519 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5520 couple of variables:
5523 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5524 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5525 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5526 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5528 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5529 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5530 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5531 formats described above.
5533 @item gnus-delay-group
5534 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5535 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5536 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5537 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5539 @item gnus-delay-header
5540 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5541 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5542 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5543 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5546 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5547 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5548 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5549 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5550 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5552 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5553 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5554 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5555 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5556 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5557 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5558 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5561 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5562 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5564 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5565 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5566 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5567 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5568 argument is ignored.
5570 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5571 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5572 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5576 @node Marking Articles
5577 @section Marking Articles
5578 @cindex article marking
5579 @cindex article ticking
5582 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5584 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5585 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5586 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5588 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5591 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5592 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5593 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5597 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5601 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5602 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5603 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5607 @node Unread Articles
5608 @subsection Unread Articles
5610 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5615 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5616 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5618 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5619 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5620 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5621 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5622 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5623 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5624 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5627 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5628 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5630 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5631 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5632 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5633 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5637 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5638 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5640 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5645 @subsection Read Articles
5646 @cindex expirable mark
5648 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5653 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5654 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5655 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5658 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5659 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5662 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5663 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5664 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5667 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5668 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5671 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5672 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5675 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5676 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5679 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5680 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5683 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5684 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5687 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5688 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5691 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5692 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5696 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5697 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5698 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5702 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5703 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5705 One more special mark, though:
5709 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5710 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5712 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5713 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5714 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5715 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5721 @subsection Other Marks
5722 @cindex process mark
5725 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5731 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5732 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5733 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5734 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5735 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5738 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5739 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5740 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5741 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5744 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5745 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5746 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5749 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5750 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5751 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5754 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5755 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5756 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5757 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5760 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5761 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5762 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5763 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5764 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5765 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5768 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5769 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5770 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5771 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5774 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5775 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5776 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5777 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5778 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5782 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5783 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5784 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5785 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5786 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5787 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5790 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5791 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5792 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5793 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5794 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5795 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5799 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5800 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5801 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5802 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5803 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5806 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5807 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5808 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5809 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5810 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5811 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5815 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5816 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5817 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5819 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5820 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5821 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5825 @subsection Setting Marks
5826 @cindex setting marks
5828 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5833 @kindex M c (Summary)
5834 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5835 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5836 @cindex mark as unread
5837 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5844 @kindex M t (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5846 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5847 @xref{Article Caching}.
5852 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5854 Mark the current article as dormant
5855 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5859 @kindex M d (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5862 Mark the current article as read
5863 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5867 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5868 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5869 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5874 @kindex M k (Summary)
5875 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5876 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5877 and then select the next unread article
5878 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5882 @kindex M K (Summary)
5883 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5885 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5886 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5889 @kindex M C (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5891 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5892 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5895 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5896 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5897 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5898 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5901 @kindex M H (Summary)
5902 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5903 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5904 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5907 @kindex M h (Summary)
5908 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5909 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5910 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5913 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5914 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5915 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5916 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5919 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5921 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5922 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5926 @kindex M e (Summary)
5928 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5929 Mark the current article as expirable
5930 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5933 @kindex M b (Summary)
5934 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5935 Set a bookmark in the current article
5936 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5939 @kindex M B (Summary)
5940 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5941 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5942 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5945 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5946 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5947 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5948 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5951 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5952 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5953 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5954 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5957 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5959 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5960 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5961 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5964 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5965 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5966 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5967 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5968 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5969 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5970 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5971 The default is @code{t}.
5974 @node Generic Marking Commands
5975 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5977 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5978 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5979 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5980 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5981 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5984 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5985 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5988 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5989 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5990 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5991 to list in this manual.
5993 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5994 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5995 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5996 article, you could say something like:
5999 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6000 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6001 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6007 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6008 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6012 @node Setting Process Marks
6013 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6014 @cindex setting process marks
6016 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6017 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6018 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6019 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6020 commands into the cache. For more information,
6021 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6028 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6029 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6030 Mark the current article with the process mark
6031 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6032 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6036 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6037 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6038 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6042 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6043 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6044 Remove the process mark from all articles
6045 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6048 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6049 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6050 Invert the list of process marked articles
6051 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6054 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6055 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6056 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6057 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6060 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6062 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6063 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6066 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6067 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6068 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6072 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6073 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6076 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6077 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6078 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6079 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6082 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6083 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6084 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6085 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6088 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6090 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6091 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6094 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6096 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6099 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6100 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6101 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6102 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6105 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6107 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6110 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6111 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6112 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6113 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6116 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6118 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6119 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6122 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6123 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6124 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6125 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6128 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6129 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6130 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6131 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6135 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6136 set process marks based on article body contents.
6143 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6144 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6145 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6148 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6149 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6150 additional articles.
6156 @kindex / / (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6158 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6159 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6163 @kindex / a (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6165 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6166 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6170 @kindex / x (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6172 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6173 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6174 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6179 @kindex / u (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6182 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6183 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6184 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6185 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6188 @kindex / m (Summary)
6189 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6190 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6191 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6194 @kindex / t (Summary)
6195 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6196 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6197 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6198 articles younger than that number of days.
6201 @kindex / n (Summary)
6202 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6203 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6204 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6205 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6208 @kindex / w (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6210 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6211 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6215 @kindex / . (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6217 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6218 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6221 @kindex / v (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6223 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6224 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6227 @kindex / p (Summary)
6228 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6229 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6230 group parameter predicate
6231 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6232 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6236 @kindex M S (Summary)
6237 @kindex / E (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6239 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6240 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6243 @kindex / D (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6245 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6246 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6249 @kindex / * (Summary)
6250 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6251 Include all cached articles in the limit
6252 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6255 @kindex / d (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6257 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6261 @kindex / M (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6263 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6266 @kindex / T (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6268 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6271 @kindex / c (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6273 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6277 @kindex / C (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6279 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6280 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6281 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6284 @kindex / N (Summary)
6285 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6286 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6287 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6290 @kindex / o (Summary)
6291 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6292 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6293 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6301 @cindex article threading
6303 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6304 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6305 hierarchical fashion.
6307 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6308 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6309 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6310 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6311 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6312 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6313 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6315 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6319 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6322 A tree-like article structure.
6325 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6328 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6329 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6330 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6331 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6332 called loose threads.
6334 @item thread gathering
6335 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6337 @item sparse threads
6338 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6339 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6345 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6346 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6350 @node Customizing Threading
6351 @subsection Customizing Threading
6352 @cindex customizing threading
6355 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6356 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6357 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6358 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6363 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6366 @cindex loose threads
6369 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6370 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6371 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6372 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6373 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6374 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6376 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6377 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6378 There are four possible values:
6382 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6383 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6384 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6385 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6386 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6391 @cindex adopting articles
6396 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6397 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6398 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6399 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6402 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6403 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6404 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6405 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6406 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6407 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6408 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6409 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6410 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6411 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6414 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6415 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6416 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6420 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6421 display them after one another.
6424 Don't gather loose threads.
6427 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6428 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6429 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6430 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6431 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6432 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6433 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6434 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6435 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6436 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6437 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6439 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6440 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6441 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6444 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6445 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6446 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6447 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6448 simplification is used.
6450 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6451 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6452 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6453 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6455 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6457 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6463 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6464 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6465 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6466 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6471 (mapconcat 'identity
6472 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6474 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6477 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6480 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6481 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6482 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6483 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6484 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6485 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6487 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6490 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6491 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6492 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6494 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6495 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6498 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6499 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6500 Remove excessive whitespace.
6502 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6503 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6504 Remove all whitespace.
6507 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6510 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6511 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6512 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6513 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6514 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6515 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6516 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6517 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6519 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6520 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6521 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6522 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6523 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6524 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6525 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6526 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6527 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6531 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6532 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6533 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6534 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6536 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6537 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6538 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6541 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6545 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6546 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6552 @node Filling In Threads
6553 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6556 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6557 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6558 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6559 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6560 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6561 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6562 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6563 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6564 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6565 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6566 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6567 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6570 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6571 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6572 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6574 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6575 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6576 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6577 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6578 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6579 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6580 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6581 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6582 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6583 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6584 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6585 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6586 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6587 @code{nil} by default.
6589 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6590 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6591 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6592 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6593 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6594 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6595 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6597 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6598 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6599 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6604 @node More Threading
6605 @subsubsection More Threading
6608 @item gnus-show-threads
6609 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6610 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6611 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6612 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6613 slower and more awkward.
6615 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6616 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6617 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6620 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6621 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6622 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6627 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6628 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6629 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6632 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6633 unread, but you get my drift.)
6636 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6637 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6638 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6639 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6640 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6641 threads are expunged.
6643 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6644 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6645 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6648 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6649 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6650 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6651 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6652 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6653 result in a new thread.
6655 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6656 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6657 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6660 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6661 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6662 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6663 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6664 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6665 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6666 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6667 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6668 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6669 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6670 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6675 @node Low-Level Threading
6676 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6680 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6681 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6682 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6683 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6684 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6685 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6687 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6688 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6689 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6690 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6691 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6692 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6693 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6694 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6695 meaningful. Here's one example:
6698 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6700 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6701 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6703 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6705 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6712 @node Thread Commands
6713 @subsection Thread Commands
6714 @cindex thread commands
6720 @kindex T k (Summary)
6721 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6722 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6723 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6724 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6725 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6730 @kindex T l (Summary)
6731 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6732 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6733 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6734 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6737 @kindex T i (Summary)
6738 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6739 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6740 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6743 @kindex T # (Summary)
6744 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6745 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6746 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6749 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6750 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6751 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6752 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6755 @kindex T T (Summary)
6756 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6757 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6760 @kindex T s (Summary)
6761 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6762 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6763 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6766 @kindex T h (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6768 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6771 @kindex T S (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6773 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6776 @kindex T H (Summary)
6777 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6778 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6781 @kindex T t (Summary)
6782 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6783 Re-thread the current article's thread
6784 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6785 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6788 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6789 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6790 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6791 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6795 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6796 understand the numeric prefix.
6801 @kindex T n (Summary)
6803 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6805 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6807 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6810 @kindex T p (Summary)
6812 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6814 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6815 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6816 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6819 @kindex T d (Summary)
6820 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6821 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6824 @kindex T u (Summary)
6825 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6826 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6829 @kindex T o (Summary)
6830 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6831 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6834 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6835 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6836 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6837 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6838 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6839 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6840 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6841 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6842 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6843 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6844 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6845 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6849 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6850 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6852 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6853 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6854 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6855 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6856 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6857 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6858 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6859 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6860 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6861 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6862 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6863 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6864 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6866 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6867 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6868 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6869 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6870 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6871 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6872 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6873 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6875 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6876 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6877 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6879 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6880 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6881 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6882 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6883 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6884 ascending article order.
6886 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6887 by number, you could do something like:
6890 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6891 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6892 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6893 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6896 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6897 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6898 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6899 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6900 which the articles arrived.
6902 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6906 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6908 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6909 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6912 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6913 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6914 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6915 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6918 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6919 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6920 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6921 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6922 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6923 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6924 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6925 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6926 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6927 variable. It is very similar to the
6928 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6929 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6930 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6931 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6932 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6933 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6934 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6936 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6940 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6941 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6942 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6947 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6948 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6949 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6950 @cindex article pre-fetch
6953 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6954 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6955 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6956 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6957 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6959 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6960 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6962 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6963 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6964 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6965 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6966 connection is blocked.
6968 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6969 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6970 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6971 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6973 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6974 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6975 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6976 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6979 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6982 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6983 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6984 happen automatically.
6986 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6987 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6988 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6989 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6990 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6991 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6992 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6994 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6995 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6996 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6997 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6998 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6999 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
7000 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
7001 data structure as the only parameter.
7003 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7006 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7007 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7008 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7009 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7012 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7015 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7016 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7017 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7019 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7020 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7021 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7022 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7026 Remove articles when they are read.
7029 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7032 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7034 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7035 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7036 @c from the next group.
7039 @node Article Caching
7040 @section Article Caching
7041 @cindex article caching
7044 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7045 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7046 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7047 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7048 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7050 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7052 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7053 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7054 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7055 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7056 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7057 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7058 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7059 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7061 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7062 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7063 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7064 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7065 as dormant, and don't worry.
7067 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7069 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7070 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7071 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7072 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7073 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7074 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7075 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7076 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7077 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7078 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7080 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7081 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7082 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7083 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7084 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7085 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7086 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7087 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7088 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7089 not then be downloaded by this command.
7091 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7092 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7093 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7094 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7095 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7096 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7098 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7099 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7100 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7101 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7102 variables, the group is not cached.
7104 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7105 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7106 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7107 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7108 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7109 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7110 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7111 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7112 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7115 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7116 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7117 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7118 where, isn't that cool?
7120 @node Persistent Articles
7121 @section Persistent Articles
7122 @cindex persistent articles
7124 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7125 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7126 useful in my opinion.
7128 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7129 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7130 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7131 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7132 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7133 the expiry going on at the news server.
7135 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7136 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7137 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7143 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7144 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7147 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7149 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7150 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7154 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7156 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7157 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7158 interested in persistent articles:
7161 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7165 @node Article Backlog
7166 @section Article Backlog
7168 @cindex article backlog
7170 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7171 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7172 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7173 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7174 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7175 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7176 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7177 increase memory usage some.
7179 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7180 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7181 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7182 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7183 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7184 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7185 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7187 The default value is 20.
7190 @node Saving Articles
7191 @section Saving Articles
7192 @cindex saving articles
7194 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7195 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7196 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7197 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7198 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7200 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7201 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7202 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7204 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7205 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7206 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7208 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7209 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7210 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7211 deleted before saving.
7217 @kindex O o (Summary)
7219 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7220 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7221 Save the current article using the default article saver
7222 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7225 @kindex O m (Summary)
7226 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7227 Save the current article in mail format
7228 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7231 @kindex O r (Summary)
7232 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7233 Save the current article in rmail format
7234 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7237 @kindex O f (Summary)
7238 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7239 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7240 Save the current article in plain file format
7241 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7244 @kindex O F (Summary)
7245 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7246 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7247 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7250 @kindex O b (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7252 Save the current article body in plain file format
7253 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7256 @kindex O h (Summary)
7257 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7258 Save the current article in mh folder format
7259 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7262 @kindex O v (Summary)
7263 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7264 Save the current article in a VM folder
7265 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7269 @kindex O p (Summary)
7271 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7272 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7273 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7274 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7275 complete headers in the piped output.
7278 @kindex O P (Summary)
7279 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7280 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7281 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7282 external program Muttprint (see
7283 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7284 options to use is controlled by the variable
7285 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7289 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7290 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7291 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7292 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7293 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7294 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7295 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7296 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7297 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7298 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7299 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7300 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7304 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7305 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7306 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7307 functions below, or you can create your own.
7311 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7312 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7313 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7314 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7315 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7316 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7317 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7319 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7320 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7321 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7322 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7323 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7324 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7326 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7327 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7328 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7329 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7330 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7331 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7332 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7334 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7335 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7336 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7337 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7338 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7339 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7341 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7342 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7343 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7344 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7345 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7347 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7348 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7349 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7350 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7351 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7354 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7355 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7356 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7357 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7358 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7360 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7361 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7362 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7363 reader to use this setting.
7366 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7367 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7368 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7369 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7372 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7373 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7374 available functions that generate names:
7378 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7379 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7380 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7382 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7383 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7384 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7386 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7387 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7388 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7390 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7391 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7392 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7394 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7395 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7396 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7399 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7400 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7401 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7402 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7403 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7407 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7408 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7409 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7410 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7413 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7414 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7415 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7416 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7417 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7418 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7419 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7420 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7421 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7423 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7424 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7425 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7426 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7428 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7429 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7430 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7433 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7434 lots of mail groups called things like
7435 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7436 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7437 following will do just that:
7440 (defun my-save-name (group)
7441 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7442 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7444 (setq gnus-split-methods
7445 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7450 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7451 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7452 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7453 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7454 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7455 all the files in the top level directory
7456 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7457 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7458 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7459 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7461 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7462 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7463 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7464 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7465 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7468 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7472 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7473 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7474 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7477 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7478 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7479 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7480 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7483 @node Decoding Articles
7484 @section Decoding Articles
7485 @cindex decoding articles
7487 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7488 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7491 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7492 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7493 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7494 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7495 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7496 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7500 @cindex article series
7501 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7502 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7503 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7504 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7505 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7507 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7508 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7509 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7511 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7512 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7513 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7515 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7516 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7517 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7520 @node Uuencoded Articles
7521 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7523 @cindex uuencoded articles
7528 @kindex X u (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7530 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7531 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7534 @kindex X U (Summary)
7535 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7536 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7537 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7540 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7541 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7542 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7545 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7546 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7547 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7548 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7552 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7553 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7554 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7555 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7556 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7558 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7559 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7560 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7561 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7564 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7565 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7566 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7567 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7568 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7569 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7573 @node Shell Archives
7574 @subsection Shell Archives
7576 @cindex shell archives
7577 @cindex shared articles
7579 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7580 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7581 some commands to deal with these:
7586 @kindex X s (Summary)
7587 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7588 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7591 @kindex X S (Summary)
7592 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7593 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7596 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7598 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7601 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7602 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7603 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7604 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7608 @node PostScript Files
7609 @subsection PostScript Files
7615 @kindex X p (Summary)
7616 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7617 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7620 @kindex X P (Summary)
7621 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7622 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7623 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7626 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7627 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7628 View the current PostScript series
7629 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7632 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7633 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7634 View and save the current PostScript series
7635 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7640 @subsection Other Files
7644 @kindex X o (Summary)
7645 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7646 Save the current series
7647 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7650 @kindex X b (Summary)
7651 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7652 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7653 doesn't really work yet.
7657 @node Decoding Variables
7658 @subsection Decoding Variables
7660 Adjective, not verb.
7663 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7664 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7665 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7669 @node Rule Variables
7670 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7671 @cindex rule variables
7673 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7674 variables are of the form
7677 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7684 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7685 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7687 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7688 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7691 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7692 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7695 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7696 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7697 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7698 user and default view rules.
7700 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7701 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7702 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7707 @node Other Decode Variables
7708 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7711 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7713 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7714 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7715 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7716 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7717 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7721 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7722 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7725 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7726 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7727 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7730 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7731 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7732 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7733 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7734 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7737 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7738 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7739 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7741 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7742 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7743 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7744 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7745 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7748 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7749 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7750 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7752 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7753 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7754 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7755 looking for files to display.
7757 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7758 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7759 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7762 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7763 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7764 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7767 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7768 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7769 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7772 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7773 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7774 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7777 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7778 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7779 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7780 decoded articles as unread.
7782 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7783 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7784 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7785 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7787 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7788 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7789 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7791 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7792 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7794 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7795 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7796 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7797 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7799 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7800 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7801 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7802 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7803 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7804 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7805 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7806 simply dropped them.
7811 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7812 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7816 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7817 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7818 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7819 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7820 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7821 for you when you post the article.
7823 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7824 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7825 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7826 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7828 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7829 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7830 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7831 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7832 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7833 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7834 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7836 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7837 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7838 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7839 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7840 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7841 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7842 Default is @code{t}.
7848 @subsection Viewing Files
7849 @cindex viewing files
7850 @cindex pseudo-articles
7852 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7853 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7854 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7855 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7856 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7857 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7858 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7860 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7861 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7862 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7863 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7865 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7866 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7867 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7869 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7870 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7871 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7872 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7873 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7875 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7876 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7877 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7878 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7879 a list of parameters to that command.
7881 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7882 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7883 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7885 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7886 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7887 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7890 @node Article Treatment
7891 @section Article Treatment
7893 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7894 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7895 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7896 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7897 these articles easier.
7900 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7901 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7902 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7903 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7904 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7905 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7906 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7907 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7908 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7909 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7913 @node Article Highlighting
7914 @subsection Article Highlighting
7915 @cindex highlighting
7917 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7918 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7923 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7924 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7925 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7926 Do much highlighting of the current article
7927 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7928 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7931 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7932 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7933 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7934 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7935 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7936 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7937 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7938 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7939 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7940 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7941 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7942 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7945 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7946 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7947 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7949 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7952 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7954 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7955 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7956 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7958 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7959 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7960 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7962 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7963 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7964 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7965 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7966 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7967 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7969 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7970 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7971 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7973 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7974 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7975 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7977 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7978 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7979 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7980 that it's a citation.
7982 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7983 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7984 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7986 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7987 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7988 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7990 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7991 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7992 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7993 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7999 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8000 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8001 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8002 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8003 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8004 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8005 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8006 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8011 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8014 @node Article Fontisizing
8015 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8017 @cindex article emphasis
8019 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8020 @kindex W e (Summary)
8021 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8022 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8023 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8024 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8026 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8027 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8028 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8029 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8030 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8031 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8032 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8033 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8037 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8038 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8039 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8048 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8049 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8050 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8051 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8052 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8053 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8055 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8056 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8057 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8058 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8059 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8060 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8062 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8063 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8064 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8068 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8071 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8073 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8074 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8075 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8076 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8078 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8081 @node Article Hiding
8082 @subsection Article Hiding
8083 @cindex article hiding
8085 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8086 too much cruft in most articles.
8091 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8092 @findex gnus-article-hide
8093 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8094 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8095 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8098 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8099 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8100 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8104 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8105 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8106 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8107 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8110 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8111 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8112 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8116 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8117 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8118 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8119 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8120 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8121 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8122 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8123 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8127 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8128 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8129 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8130 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8135 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8136 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8137 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8138 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8141 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8142 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8143 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8144 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8147 @cindex stripping advertisements
8148 @cindex advertisements
8149 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8150 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8151 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8152 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8153 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8154 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8155 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8156 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8157 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8158 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8161 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8162 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8163 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8167 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8168 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8169 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8170 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8171 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8172 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8173 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8174 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8175 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8176 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8177 following element to remove them:
8180 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8186 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8187 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8188 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8189 customizing the hiding:
8193 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8194 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8195 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8196 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8197 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8198 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8199 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8204 Starting point of the hidden text.
8206 Ending point of the hidden text.
8208 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8210 Number of lines of hidden text.
8213 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8214 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8215 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8216 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8217 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8222 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8223 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8225 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8226 following two variables:
8229 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8230 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8231 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8232 50), hide the cited text.
8234 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8235 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8236 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8241 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8242 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8243 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8244 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8245 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8246 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8250 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8251 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8252 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8254 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8255 citation customization.
8257 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8261 @node Article Washing
8262 @subsection Article Washing
8264 @cindex article washing
8266 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8267 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8269 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8270 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8273 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8274 articles by default.
8279 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8280 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8284 Force redisplaying of the current article
8285 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8286 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8287 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8288 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8291 @kindex W l (Summary)
8292 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8293 Remove page breaks from the current article
8294 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8298 @kindex W r (Summary)
8299 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8300 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8301 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8302 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8303 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8304 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8306 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8307 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8308 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8309 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8312 @kindex W m (Summary)
8313 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8314 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8318 @kindex W t (Summary)
8320 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8321 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8322 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8325 @kindex W v (Summary)
8326 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8327 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8328 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8331 @kindex W m (Summary)
8332 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8333 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8334 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8337 @kindex W o (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8339 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8342 @kindex W d (Summary)
8343 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8344 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8346 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8348 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8349 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8350 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8351 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8354 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8355 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8356 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8357 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8360 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8361 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8362 @cindex Outlook Express
8363 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8364 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8365 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8368 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8370 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8371 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8372 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8373 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8374 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8375 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8376 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8377 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8380 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8382 Repair a broken attribution line.
8383 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8386 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8387 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8388 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8389 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8392 @kindex W w (Summary)
8393 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8394 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8396 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8400 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8401 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8402 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8405 @kindex W C (Summary)
8406 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8407 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8408 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8411 @kindex W c (Summary)
8412 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8413 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8414 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8415 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8416 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8419 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8420 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8421 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8422 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8423 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8424 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8425 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8427 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8430 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8431 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8432 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8433 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8434 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8437 @kindex W u (Summary)
8438 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8439 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8440 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8441 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8442 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8445 @kindex W h (Summary)
8446 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8447 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8448 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8449 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8451 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8453 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8454 The default is to use the function specified by
8455 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8456 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8457 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8458 you can use include:
8465 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8469 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8472 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8475 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8480 @kindex W b (Summary)
8481 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8482 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8483 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8486 @kindex W B (Summary)
8487 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8488 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8489 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8492 @kindex W p (Summary)
8493 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8494 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8495 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8496 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8497 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8498 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8499 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8502 @kindex W s (Summary)
8503 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8504 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8505 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8508 @kindex W a (Summary)
8509 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8510 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8511 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8514 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8515 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8516 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8517 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8520 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8522 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8523 lines with a single empty line.
8524 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8527 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8529 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8530 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8533 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8535 Do all the three commands above
8536 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8539 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8540 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8541 Remove all blank lines
8542 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8545 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8546 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8547 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8548 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8551 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8552 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8553 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8554 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8558 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8561 @node Article Header
8562 @subsection Article Header
8564 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8569 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8570 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8571 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8574 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8576 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8577 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8580 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8581 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8582 Fold all the message headers
8583 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8587 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8588 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8589 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8594 @node Article Buttons
8595 @subsection Article Buttons
8598 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8599 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8600 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8601 button on these references.
8603 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8604 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8605 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8606 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8607 one that handles article heads:
8611 @item gnus-button-alist
8612 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8613 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8616 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8622 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8623 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8624 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8625 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8626 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8629 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8630 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8631 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8634 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8635 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8636 avoid false matches.
8639 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8642 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8643 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8647 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8650 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8653 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8654 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8655 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8656 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8657 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8660 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8663 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8665 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8666 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8667 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8668 default values of the variables above.
8670 @item gnus-article-button-face
8671 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8672 Face used on buttons.
8674 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8675 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8676 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8680 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8684 @subsection Article Date
8686 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8687 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8688 when the article was sent.
8693 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8694 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8695 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8696 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8699 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8700 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8702 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8703 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8706 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8707 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8708 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8711 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8713 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8714 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8717 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8718 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8719 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8720 @findex format-time-string
8721 Display the date using a user-defined format
8722 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8723 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8724 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8725 for a list of possible format specs.
8728 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8729 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8730 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8731 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8732 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8733 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8736 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8739 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8740 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8741 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8744 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8745 into wonderful absurdities.
8747 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8750 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8753 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8754 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8758 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8759 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8760 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8761 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8762 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8763 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8764 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8768 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8769 preferred format automatically.
8772 @node Article Display
8773 @subsection Article Display
8778 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8779 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8781 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8782 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8784 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8785 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8787 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8788 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8790 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8795 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8796 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8797 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8798 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8801 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8802 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8803 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8804 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8807 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8808 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8809 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8812 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8813 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8814 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8817 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8818 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8819 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8820 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8823 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8824 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8825 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8826 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8829 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8830 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8831 Remove all images from the article buffer
8832 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8838 @node Article Signature
8839 @subsection Article Signature
8841 @cindex article signature
8843 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8844 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8845 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8846 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8847 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8848 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8849 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8850 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8851 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8854 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8855 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8856 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8857 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8858 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8859 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8860 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8861 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8864 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8867 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8868 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8869 signature when displaying articles.
8873 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8876 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8879 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8880 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8882 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8883 in question is not a signature.
8886 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8887 listed above. Here's an example:
8890 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8891 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8894 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8895 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8896 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8897 signature after all.
8900 @node Article Miscellania
8901 @subsection Article Miscellania
8905 @kindex A t (Summary)
8906 @findex gnus-article-babel
8907 Translate the article from one language to another
8908 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8914 @section MIME Commands
8915 @cindex MIME decoding
8917 @cindex viewing attachments
8919 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8920 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8926 @kindex K v (Summary)
8927 View the @sc{mime} part.
8930 @kindex K o (Summary)
8931 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8934 @kindex K c (Summary)
8935 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8938 @kindex K e (Summary)
8939 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8942 @kindex K i (Summary)
8943 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8946 @kindex K | (Summary)
8947 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8950 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8955 @kindex K b (Summary)
8956 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8957 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8961 @kindex K m (Summary)
8962 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8963 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8964 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8965 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8966 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8969 @kindex X m (Summary)
8970 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8971 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8972 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8973 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8976 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8978 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8979 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8982 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8983 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8984 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8985 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8988 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8989 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8990 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8991 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8993 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8994 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8995 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8996 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8997 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8998 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9001 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9002 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9003 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
9004 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9011 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9012 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9013 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9014 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9017 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9020 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9024 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9025 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9026 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9027 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9028 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9029 default is @code{nil}.
9031 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9032 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9033 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9034 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9035 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9036 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9037 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9039 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9040 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9041 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9042 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9043 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9044 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9045 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9046 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9048 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9049 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9050 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9051 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9052 displayed. This variable overrides
9053 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9054 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9057 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9058 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9059 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9061 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9062 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9063 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9064 value is @code{nil}.
9066 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9067 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9068 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9069 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9070 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9071 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9072 save all jpegs into some directory).
9074 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9077 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9078 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9080 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9081 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9082 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9083 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9084 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9087 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9088 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9089 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9091 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9092 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9093 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9094 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9096 Ready-made functions include@*
9097 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9098 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9099 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9100 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9101 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9102 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9103 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9104 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9105 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9106 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9107 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9108 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9110 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9111 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9113 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9114 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9115 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9118 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9119 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9120 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9121 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9125 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9134 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9135 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9136 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9137 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9138 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9139 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9140 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9142 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9143 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9144 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9145 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9147 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9148 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9149 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9150 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9151 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9152 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9153 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9154 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9155 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9157 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9158 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9159 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9160 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9161 quoted-printable header encoding.
9163 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9164 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9165 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9169 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9172 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9173 means encode all charsets),
9175 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9176 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9177 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9184 @cindex coding system aliases
9185 @cindex preferred charset
9187 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9189 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9190 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9193 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9194 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9197 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9198 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9200 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9203 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9206 This will almost do the right thing.
9208 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9212 (codepage-setup 1251)
9213 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9217 @node Article Commands
9218 @section Article Commands
9225 @kindex A P (Summary)
9226 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9227 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9228 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9229 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9230 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9231 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9236 @node Summary Sorting
9237 @section Summary Sorting
9238 @cindex summary sorting
9240 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9241 can't really see why you'd want that.
9246 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9247 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9248 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9251 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9252 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9253 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9256 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9257 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9258 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9261 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9262 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9263 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9266 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9267 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9268 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9271 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9272 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9273 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9276 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9277 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9278 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9281 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9282 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9283 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9286 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9287 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9288 Sort using the default sorting method
9289 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9292 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9293 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9294 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9295 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9296 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9300 @node Finding the Parent
9301 @section Finding the Parent
9302 @cindex parent articles
9303 @cindex referring articles
9308 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9309 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9310 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9311 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9312 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9313 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9314 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9315 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9316 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9318 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9319 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9320 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9321 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9322 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9326 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9327 @kindex A R (Summary)
9328 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9329 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9332 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9333 @kindex A T (Summary)
9334 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9335 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9336 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9337 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9338 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9339 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9340 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9342 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9343 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9344 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9345 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9346 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9347 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9350 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9351 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9353 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9354 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9355 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9356 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9357 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9358 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9359 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9362 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9363 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9364 by giving this command a prefix.
9366 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9367 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9368 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9369 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9370 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9371 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9374 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9375 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9376 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9379 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9380 then ask Google if that fails:
9383 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9385 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9388 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9389 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9390 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9391 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9392 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9393 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9394 support this at all.
9397 @node Alternative Approaches
9398 @section Alternative Approaches
9400 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9401 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9404 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9405 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9410 @subsection Pick and Read
9411 @cindex pick and read
9413 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9414 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9415 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9416 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9418 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9419 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9420 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9421 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9422 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9423 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9425 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9430 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9431 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9432 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9433 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9434 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9435 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9436 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9437 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9440 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9441 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9442 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9443 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9447 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9448 Unpick the thread or article
9449 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9450 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9451 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9452 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9453 the thread or article at that line.
9457 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9458 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9459 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9460 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9461 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9462 will still be visible when you are reading.
9466 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9467 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9468 which is mapped to the same function
9469 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9471 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9474 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9477 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9478 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9480 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9481 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9482 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9484 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9485 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9486 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9487 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9488 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9489 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9490 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9494 @subsection Binary Groups
9495 @cindex binary groups
9497 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9498 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9499 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9500 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9501 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9502 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9503 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9506 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9507 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9508 command, when you have turned on this mode
9509 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9511 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9512 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9516 @section Tree Display
9519 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9520 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9521 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9522 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9525 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9528 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9529 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9530 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9532 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9533 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9534 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9535 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9536 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9538 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9539 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9540 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9541 default is @code{modeline}.
9543 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9544 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9545 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9546 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9547 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9548 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9549 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9555 The name of the poster.
9557 The @code{From} header.
9559 The number of the article.
9561 The opening bracket.
9563 The closing bracket.
9568 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9570 Variables related to the display are:
9573 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9574 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9575 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9576 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9577 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9578 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9580 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9581 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9582 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9583 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9587 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9588 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9589 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9590 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9591 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9592 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9593 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9594 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9595 other windows displayed next to it.
9597 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9601 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9602 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9605 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9606 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9607 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9608 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9609 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9610 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9611 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9615 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9618 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9628 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9632 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9633 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9635 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9637 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9642 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9643 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9644 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9647 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9648 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9649 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9650 (gnus-add-configuration
9654 (summary 0.75 point)
9659 @xref{Window Layout}.
9662 @node Mail Group Commands
9663 @section Mail Group Commands
9664 @cindex mail group commands
9666 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9667 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9669 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9670 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9675 @kindex B e (Summary)
9676 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9677 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9678 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9679 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9680 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9683 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9684 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9685 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9686 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9687 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9688 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9691 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9692 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9693 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9694 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9695 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9696 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9699 @kindex B m (Summary)
9701 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9702 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9703 Move the article from one mail group to another
9704 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9705 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9708 @kindex B c (Summary)
9710 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9711 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9712 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9713 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9714 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9717 @kindex B B (Summary)
9718 @cindex crosspost mail
9719 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9720 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9721 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9722 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9723 be properly updated.
9726 @kindex B i (Summary)
9727 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9728 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9729 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9730 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9733 @kindex B I (Summary)
9734 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9735 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9736 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9737 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9740 @kindex B r (Summary)
9741 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9742 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9743 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9744 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9745 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9746 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9747 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9748 (which is the default).
9752 @kindex B w (Summary)
9754 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9755 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9756 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9757 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9758 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9759 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9760 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9763 @kindex B q (Summary)
9764 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9765 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9766 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9767 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9770 @kindex B t (Summary)
9771 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9772 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9773 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9776 @kindex B p (Summary)
9777 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9778 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9779 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9780 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9781 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9782 article from your news server (or rather, from
9783 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9784 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9785 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9786 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9787 just not have arrived yet.
9790 @kindex K E (Summary)
9791 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9792 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9793 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9794 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9795 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9799 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9800 @cindex moving articles
9801 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9802 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9803 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9804 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9805 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9806 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9807 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9810 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9811 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9812 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9813 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9817 @node Various Summary Stuff
9818 @section Various Summary Stuff
9821 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9822 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9823 * Summary Generation Commands::
9824 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9828 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9829 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9830 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9831 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9832 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9833 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9835 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9836 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9837 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9839 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9840 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9841 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9842 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9843 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9844 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9847 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9848 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9849 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9850 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9851 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9853 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9854 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9855 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9858 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9859 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9860 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9861 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9862 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9863 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9864 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9865 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9866 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9867 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9869 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9870 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9871 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9872 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9873 list of articles to be selected.
9875 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9876 the list in one particular group:
9879 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9880 (if (string= group "some.group")
9881 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9885 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9886 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9887 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9888 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9889 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9890 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9891 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9892 buffers. For example:
9895 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9896 '(message-use-followup-to
9897 (gnus-visible-headers .
9898 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9904 @node Summary Group Information
9905 @subsection Summary Group Information
9910 @kindex H f (Summary)
9911 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9912 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9913 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9914 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9915 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9916 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9917 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9918 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9919 be used for fetching the file.
9922 @kindex H d (Summary)
9923 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9924 Give a brief description of the current group
9925 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9926 rereading the description from the server.
9929 @kindex H h (Summary)
9930 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9931 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9932 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9935 @kindex H i (Summary)
9936 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9937 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9941 @node Searching for Articles
9942 @subsection Searching for Articles
9947 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9948 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9949 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9950 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9953 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9954 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9955 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9956 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9960 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9961 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9962 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9963 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9964 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9965 search backward instead.
9967 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9968 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9971 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9972 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9973 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9974 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9977 @node Summary Generation Commands
9978 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9983 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9984 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9985 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9988 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9989 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9990 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9991 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9994 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9995 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9996 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9997 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10002 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10003 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10009 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10010 @kindex A D (Summary)
10011 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10012 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10013 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10014 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10015 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10016 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10017 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10018 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10022 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10023 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10024 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10025 several documents into one biiig group
10026 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10027 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10028 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10029 command understands the process/prefix convention
10030 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10033 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10034 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10035 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10036 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10037 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10038 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10041 @kindex = (Summary)
10042 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10043 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10044 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10047 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10048 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10049 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10050 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10053 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10054 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10055 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10056 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10061 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10062 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10063 @cindex summary exit
10064 @cindex exiting groups
10066 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10067 group and return you to the group buffer.
10073 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10074 @kindex q (Summary)
10075 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10076 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10077 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10078 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10079 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10080 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10081 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10082 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10083 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10084 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10085 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10086 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10090 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10091 @kindex Q (Summary)
10092 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10093 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10094 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10098 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10099 @kindex c (Summary)
10100 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10101 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10102 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10103 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10106 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10107 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10108 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10109 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10112 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10113 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10114 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10115 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10118 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10119 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10120 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10121 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10122 all articles, both read and unread.
10126 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10127 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10128 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10129 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10130 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10131 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10132 articles, both read and unread.
10135 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10136 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10137 Exit the group and go to the next group
10138 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10141 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10142 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10143 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10144 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10147 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10148 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10149 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10150 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10151 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10152 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10155 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10156 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10157 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10158 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10160 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10161 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10162 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10163 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10164 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10165 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10166 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10167 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10168 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10169 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10170 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10171 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10173 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10175 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10176 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10177 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10178 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10179 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10180 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10181 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10182 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10183 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10186 @node Crosspost Handling
10187 @section Crosspost Handling
10191 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10192 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10193 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10194 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10195 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10196 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10199 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10200 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10201 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10202 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10203 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10205 @cindex cross-posting
10208 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10209 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10210 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10211 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10212 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10213 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10214 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10215 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10216 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10217 the cross reference mechanism.
10219 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10220 @cindex overview.fmt
10221 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10222 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10223 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10224 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10225 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10226 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10229 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10230 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10231 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10236 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10239 @node Duplicate Suppression
10240 @section Duplicate Suppression
10242 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10243 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10244 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10245 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10250 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10251 is evil and not very common.
10254 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10255 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10258 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10259 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10262 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10265 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10266 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10268 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10269 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10270 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10271 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10272 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10273 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10274 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10277 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10278 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10279 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10280 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10281 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10282 saw the article in.
10285 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10286 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10287 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10289 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10290 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10291 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10292 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10293 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10294 session are suppressed.
10296 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10297 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10298 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10299 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10301 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10302 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10303 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10304 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10307 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10308 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10309 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10310 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10311 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10312 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10313 to you to figure out, I think.
10318 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10319 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10320 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10324 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10325 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10326 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10327 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10330 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10331 or newer is recommended.
10335 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10336 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10339 @item mm-verify-option
10340 @vindex mm-verify-option
10341 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10342 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10343 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10345 @item mm-decrypt-option
10346 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10347 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10348 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10349 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10352 @vindex mml1991-use
10353 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10354 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10355 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10358 @vindex mml2015-use
10359 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10360 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10361 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10366 @section Mailing List
10368 @kindex A M (summary)
10369 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10370 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10371 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10372 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10375 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10380 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10381 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10382 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10385 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10386 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10387 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10390 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10391 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10392 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10396 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10397 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10398 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10401 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10402 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10403 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10406 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10407 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10408 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10412 @node Article Buffer
10413 @chapter Article Buffer
10414 @cindex article buffer
10416 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10417 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10418 tell gnus otherwise.
10421 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10422 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10423 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10424 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10425 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10429 @node Hiding Headers
10430 @section Hiding Headers
10431 @cindex hiding headers
10432 @cindex deleting headers
10434 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10435 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10437 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10438 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10439 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10440 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10441 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10442 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10443 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10444 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10445 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10447 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10451 @item gnus-visible-headers
10452 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10453 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10454 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10455 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10457 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10458 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10461 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10464 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10467 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10468 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10469 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10470 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10471 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10472 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10474 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10475 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10478 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10481 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10484 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10485 variable will have no effect.
10489 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10490 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10491 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10492 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10493 the headers are to be displayed.
10495 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10496 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10499 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10502 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10503 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10505 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10506 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10507 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10508 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10509 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10510 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10511 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10514 These conditions are:
10517 Remove all empty headers.
10519 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10520 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10522 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10523 @code{From} header.
10525 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10528 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10529 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10531 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10534 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10536 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10539 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10542 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10543 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10546 This is also the default value for this variable.
10550 @section Using MIME
10553 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10554 while people stand around yawning.
10556 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10557 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10559 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10560 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10561 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10563 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10564 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10565 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10566 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10567 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10568 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10569 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10570 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10571 not existed yet, sorry).
10573 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10574 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10575 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10576 These can't be avoided.
10578 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10579 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10580 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10581 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10582 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10583 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10584 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10585 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10586 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10589 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10591 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10592 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10593 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10594 buffer when there are nobody else.
10596 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10599 @node Customizing Articles
10600 @section Customizing Articles
10601 @cindex article customization
10603 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10604 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10605 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10606 called automatically when you select the articles.
10608 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10609 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10610 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10611 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10613 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10614 for sensible values.
10618 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10621 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10624 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10627 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10630 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10634 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10635 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10636 regexps in the list.
10639 A list where the first element is not a string:
10641 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10642 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10643 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10647 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10651 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10656 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10657 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10658 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10659 considered to contain just a single part.
10661 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10662 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10663 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10664 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10665 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10666 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10667 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10669 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10670 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10671 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10672 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10675 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10676 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10678 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10680 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10681 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10682 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10683 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10684 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10685 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10686 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10687 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10688 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10689 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10690 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10692 @xref{Article Washing}.
10694 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10695 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10696 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10697 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10698 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10699 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10700 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10702 @xref{Article Date}.
10704 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10705 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10706 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10710 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10712 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10714 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10715 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10716 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10720 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10724 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10725 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10726 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10727 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10728 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10729 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10730 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10731 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10733 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10735 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10736 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10737 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10739 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10741 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10742 @item gnus-treat-translate
10743 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10745 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10746 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10747 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10748 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10750 @xref{Article Header}.
10755 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10756 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10757 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10758 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10759 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10763 @node Article Keymap
10764 @section Article Keymap
10766 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10767 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10768 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10769 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10772 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10777 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10778 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10779 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10780 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
10783 @kindex DEL (Article)
10784 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10785 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10786 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
10789 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10790 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10791 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10792 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10793 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10796 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10797 @findex gnus-article-mail
10798 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10799 given a prefix, include the mail.
10802 @kindex s (Article)
10803 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10804 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10805 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10808 @kindex ? (Article)
10809 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10810 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10811 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10814 @kindex TAB (Article)
10815 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10816 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10817 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10820 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10821 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10822 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10825 @kindex R (Article)
10826 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10827 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10828 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10829 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10833 @kindex F (Article)
10834 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10835 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10836 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10837 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10845 @section Misc Article
10849 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10850 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10851 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10852 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10855 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10856 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10858 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10859 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10861 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10862 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10863 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10864 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10865 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10866 the contents of the article buffer.
10868 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10869 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10870 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10872 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10873 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10874 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10875 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10877 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10878 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10879 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10880 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10881 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10887 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10888 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10889 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10894 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10897 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10900 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10901 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10902 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10905 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10908 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10911 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10916 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10920 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10922 @item gnus-break-pages
10923 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10924 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10925 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10926 paging will not be done.
10928 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10929 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10930 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10935 @node Composing Messages
10936 @chapter Composing Messages
10937 @cindex composing messages
10940 @cindex sending mail
10945 @cindex using s/mime
10946 @cindex using smime
10948 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10949 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10950 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10951 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10952 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10953 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10956 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10957 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10958 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10959 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10960 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10961 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10962 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10963 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10966 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10967 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10973 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10976 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10977 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10978 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10979 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
10980 @code{nil} include all headers.
10982 @item gnus-add-to-list
10983 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10984 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10985 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10987 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10988 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10989 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
10990 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
10991 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
10992 confirmation is should be asked for.
10994 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10995 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10997 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
10998 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
10999 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11000 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11001 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11006 @node Posting Server
11007 @section Posting Server
11009 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11010 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11012 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11014 It can be quite complicated.
11016 @vindex gnus-post-method
11017 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11018 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11019 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11020 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11021 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11022 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11023 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11024 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11025 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11028 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11031 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11032 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11033 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11034 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11036 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11037 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11039 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11040 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11043 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11044 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11046 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11047 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11048 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11049 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11050 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11051 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11052 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11053 package correctly. An example:
11056 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11057 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11058 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11059 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11060 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11063 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11064 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11065 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11067 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11068 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11069 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11071 @node Mail and Post
11072 @section Mail and Post
11074 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11078 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11079 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11080 @cindex mailing lists
11082 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11083 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11084 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11085 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11086 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11087 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11088 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11089 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11090 still a pain, though.
11092 @item gnus-version-expose-system
11093 @vindex gnus-version-expose-system
11095 Your system type (@code{system-configuration} variable, such as
11096 @samp{i686-pc-linux}) is exposed in the auto-generated by default
11097 User-Agent header. Sometimes, it may be desireable (mostly because of
11098 aesthetic reasons) to turn it off. In this case, set it to @code{nil}.
11102 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11103 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11104 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11107 @findex ispell-message
11109 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11112 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11113 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11116 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11120 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11121 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11123 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11126 Modify to suit your needs.
11129 @node Archived Messages
11130 @section Archived Messages
11131 @cindex archived messages
11132 @cindex sent messages
11134 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11135 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11136 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11137 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11140 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11141 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11144 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11145 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11146 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11149 (nnfolder "archive"
11150 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11151 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11152 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11153 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11156 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11157 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11158 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11159 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11162 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11163 '(nnfolder "archive"
11164 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11165 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11166 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11169 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11171 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11172 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11173 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11175 This variable can be used to do the following:
11180 Messages will be saved in that group.
11182 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11183 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11184 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11185 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11186 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11187 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11188 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11189 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11193 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11195 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11196 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11199 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11204 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11206 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11209 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11211 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11214 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11216 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11217 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11218 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11219 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11222 More complex stuff:
11224 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11225 '((if (message-news-p)
11230 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11231 messages in one file per month:
11234 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11235 '((if (message-news-p)
11237 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11240 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11241 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11243 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11244 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11245 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11246 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11247 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11248 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11249 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11250 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11251 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11252 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11254 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11255 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11256 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11257 this will disable archiving.
11260 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11261 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11262 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11263 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11264 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11267 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11268 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11269 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11272 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11273 but the latter is the preferred method.
11275 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11276 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11277 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11279 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11280 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11281 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11282 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11283 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11284 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11285 changed in the future.
11290 @node Posting Styles
11291 @section Posting Styles
11292 @cindex posting styles
11295 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11297 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11298 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11299 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11302 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11303 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11304 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11305 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11306 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11311 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11312 (organization "What me?"))
11314 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11315 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11316 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11319 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11320 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11321 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11322 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11323 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11324 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11325 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11326 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11328 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11329 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11330 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11331 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11332 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11333 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11334 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11335 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11336 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11337 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11338 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11341 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11342 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11343 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11344 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11345 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11346 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11347 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11348 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11349 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11350 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11353 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11354 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11355 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11356 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11357 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11358 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11359 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11360 references chars lines xref extra.
11362 @vindex message-reply-headers
11364 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11365 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11366 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11368 @findex message-mail-p
11369 @findex message-news-p
11371 So here's a new example:
11374 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11376 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11378 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11379 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11381 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11382 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11383 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11384 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11385 (signature my-news-signature))
11386 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11387 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11388 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11389 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11390 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11391 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11392 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11393 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11394 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11395 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11397 (From (save-excursion
11398 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11399 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11401 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11404 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11405 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11406 if you fill many roles.
11408 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11409 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11410 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11411 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11412 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11413 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11414 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11415 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11420 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11422 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11424 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11425 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11428 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11431 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11432 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11439 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11440 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11441 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11442 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11443 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11445 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11446 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11447 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11448 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11449 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11453 @vindex nndraft-directory
11454 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11455 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11456 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11457 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11458 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11459 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11461 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11462 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11465 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11466 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11467 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11468 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11469 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11470 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11471 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11472 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11473 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11474 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11475 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11476 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11477 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11478 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11480 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11481 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11482 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11484 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11485 @kindex D e (Draft)
11486 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11487 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11488 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11490 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11493 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11494 @kindex D s (Draft)
11495 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11496 @kindex D S (Draft)
11497 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11498 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11499 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11500 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11501 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11504 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11505 @kindex D t (Draft)
11506 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11507 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11508 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11511 @node Rejected Articles
11512 @section Rejected Articles
11513 @cindex rejected articles
11515 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11516 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11517 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11518 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11520 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11521 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11522 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11523 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11524 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11526 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11527 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11528 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11530 @node Signing and encrypting
11531 @section Signing and encrypting
11533 @cindex using s/mime
11534 @cindex using smime
11536 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11537 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11538 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11539 (@pxref{Security}).
11541 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11542 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11543 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11544 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11545 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11546 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11547 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11548 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11549 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11550 automatically encrypted messages.
11552 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11553 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11554 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11559 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11560 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11562 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11565 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11566 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11568 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11571 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11572 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11574 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11577 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11578 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11580 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11583 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11584 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11586 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11589 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11590 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11592 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11595 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11596 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11597 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11601 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11603 @node Select Methods
11604 @chapter Select Methods
11605 @cindex foreign groups
11606 @cindex select methods
11608 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11609 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11610 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11611 personal mail group.
11613 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11614 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11615 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11616 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11617 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11618 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11620 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11621 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11623 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11626 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11627 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11628 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11629 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11630 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11632 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11635 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11636 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11637 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11638 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11639 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11640 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11641 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11642 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11646 @node Server Buffer
11647 @section Server Buffer
11649 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11650 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11651 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11652 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11653 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11654 back end represents a virtual server.
11656 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11657 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11658 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11659 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11661 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11662 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11663 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11664 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11665 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11666 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11667 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11669 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11670 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11673 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11674 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11675 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11676 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11677 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11678 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11679 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11682 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11683 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11686 @node Server Buffer Format
11687 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11688 @cindex server buffer format
11690 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11691 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11692 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11693 variable, with some simple extensions:
11698 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11701 The name of this server.
11704 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11707 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11710 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11711 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11712 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11713 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11723 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11726 @node Server Commands
11727 @subsection Server Commands
11728 @cindex server commands
11734 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11735 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11739 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11740 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11743 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11744 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11745 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11749 @findex gnus-server-exit
11750 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11754 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11755 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11759 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11760 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11764 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11765 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11769 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11770 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11774 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11775 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11776 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11781 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11782 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11783 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11784 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11789 @node Example Methods
11790 @subsection Example Methods
11792 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11795 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11798 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11804 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11805 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11808 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11809 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11811 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11812 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11816 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11819 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11820 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11822 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11823 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11824 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11828 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11831 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11834 Here's the method for a public spool:
11838 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11839 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11845 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11846 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11847 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11848 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11849 should probably look something like this:
11853 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11854 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11855 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11856 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11859 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11860 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11861 configuration to the example above:
11864 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11867 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11869 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11870 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11871 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11875 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11876 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11877 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11878 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11881 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11882 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11883 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11884 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11887 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11888 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11890 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11891 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11893 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11894 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11895 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11897 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11899 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11900 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11901 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11902 will contain the following:
11912 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11913 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11914 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11917 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11918 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11919 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11922 @node Server Variables
11923 @subsection Server Variables
11925 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11926 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11927 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11928 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11929 won't change the "derived" variables.
11931 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11932 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11933 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11934 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11935 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11936 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11937 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11938 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11939 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11943 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11944 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11945 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11949 @node Servers and Methods
11950 @subsection Servers and Methods
11952 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11953 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11954 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11955 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11959 @node Unavailable Servers
11960 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11962 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11963 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11964 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11965 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11966 actually the case or not.
11968 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11969 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11970 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11971 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11972 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11973 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11974 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11975 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11977 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11978 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11980 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11981 with the following commands:
11987 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11988 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11989 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11993 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11994 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11995 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11999 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12000 Mark the current server as unreachable
12001 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12004 @kindex M-o (Server)
12005 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12006 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12007 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12010 @kindex M-c (Server)
12011 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12012 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12013 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12017 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12018 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12019 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12023 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12024 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12030 @section Getting News
12031 @cindex reading news
12032 @cindex news back ends
12034 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12035 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12036 or it can read from a local spool.
12039 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12040 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12048 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12049 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12050 server as the, uhm, address.
12052 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12053 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12054 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12055 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12057 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12058 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12059 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12061 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12066 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12067 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12068 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12070 @cindex authentification
12071 @cindex nntp authentification
12072 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12073 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12074 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12075 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12076 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12077 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12078 present in this hook.
12080 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12081 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12082 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12083 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12084 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12085 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12086 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12087 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12088 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12089 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12090 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12091 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12095 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12098 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12100 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12101 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12102 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12103 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12104 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12105 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12106 @samp{force} is explained below.
12110 Here's an example file:
12113 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12114 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12117 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12118 have to be first, for instance.
12120 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12121 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12122 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12123 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12124 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12125 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12126 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12128 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12129 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12135 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12136 previously mentioned.
12138 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12140 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12141 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12142 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12143 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12144 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12147 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12148 '(("innd" (ding))))
12151 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12153 The default value is
12156 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12157 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12158 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12161 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12162 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12164 @item nntp-maximum-request
12165 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12166 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12167 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12168 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12169 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12170 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12171 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12173 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12174 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12175 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12176 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12177 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12178 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12179 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12180 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12181 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12182 no timeouts are done.
12184 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12185 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12186 @c @cindex PPP connections
12187 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12188 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12189 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12190 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12191 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12192 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12193 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12194 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12195 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12196 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12198 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12199 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12200 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12201 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12202 @c described above.
12204 @item nntp-server-hook
12205 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12206 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12209 @item nntp-buggy-select
12210 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12211 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12213 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12214 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12215 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12216 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12219 @item nntp-xover-commands
12220 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12223 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12224 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12228 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12229 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12230 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12231 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12232 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12233 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12234 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12235 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12236 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12237 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12238 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12240 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12241 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12242 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12244 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12245 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12246 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12247 server closes connection.
12249 @item nntp-record-commands
12250 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12251 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12252 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12253 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12254 that doesn't seem to work.
12256 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12257 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12258 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12259 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12260 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12261 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12262 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12263 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12265 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12266 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12267 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12268 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12269 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12270 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12271 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12274 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12277 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12278 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12280 @item nntp-read-timeout
12281 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12282 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12283 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12284 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12285 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12288 @item nntp-list-options
12289 @vindex nntp-list-options
12290 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12291 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12292 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12293 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12294 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12298 (setq gnus-select-method
12299 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12300 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12303 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12304 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12305 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12306 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12307 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12308 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12309 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12312 (setq gnus-select-method
12313 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12314 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12317 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12318 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12319 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12320 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12321 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12322 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12323 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12326 (setq gnus-select-method
12327 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12328 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12333 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12334 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12335 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12339 @node Direct Functions
12340 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12341 @cindex direct connection functions
12343 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12344 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12345 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12346 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12349 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12350 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12351 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12354 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12355 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12356 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12357 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12358 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12359 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12360 define a server as follows:
12363 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12365 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12366 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12368 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12369 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12370 (nntp-port-number 563)
12371 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12374 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12375 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12376 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12377 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12378 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12379 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12380 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12381 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12385 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12386 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12387 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12390 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12391 session, which is not a good idea.
12395 @node Indirect Functions
12396 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12397 @cindex indirect connection functions
12399 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12400 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12401 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12402 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12403 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12404 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12407 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12408 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12409 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12410 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12411 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12413 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12416 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12417 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12418 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12419 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12421 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12422 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12423 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12424 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12425 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12426 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12427 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12428 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12431 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12432 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12433 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12434 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12436 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12439 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12440 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12441 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12444 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12445 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12446 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12447 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12449 @item nntp-via-user-password
12450 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12451 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12453 @item nntp-via-envuser
12454 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12455 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12456 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12457 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12459 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12460 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12461 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12462 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12469 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12474 @item nntp-via-user-name
12475 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12476 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12478 @item nntp-via-address
12479 @vindex nntp-via-address
12480 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12485 @node Common Variables
12486 @subsubsection Common Variables
12488 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12489 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12494 @item nntp-pre-command
12495 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12496 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12497 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12498 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12499 wrapper for instance.
12502 @vindex nntp-address
12503 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12505 @item nntp-port-number
12506 @vindex nntp-port-number
12507 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12508 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12509 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12510 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12512 @item nntp-end-of-line
12513 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12514 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12515 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12516 using a non native connection function.
12518 @item nntp-telnet-command
12519 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12520 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12521 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12522 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12524 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12525 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12526 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12533 @subsection News Spool
12537 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12538 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12539 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12542 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12543 anything else) as the address.
12545 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12546 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12547 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12548 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12552 @item nnspool-inews-program
12553 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12554 Program used to post an article.
12556 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12557 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12558 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12560 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12561 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12562 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12563 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12565 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12566 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12567 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12568 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12570 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12571 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12572 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12574 @item nnspool-active-file
12575 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12576 The name of the active file.
12578 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12579 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12580 The name of the group descriptions file.
12582 @item nnspool-history-file
12583 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12584 The name of the news history file.
12586 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12587 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12588 The name of the active date file.
12590 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12591 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12592 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12595 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12596 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12598 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12599 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12600 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12606 @section Getting Mail
12607 @cindex reading mail
12610 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12614 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12615 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12616 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12617 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12618 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12619 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12620 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12621 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12622 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12623 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12624 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12625 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12626 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12630 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12631 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12633 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12634 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12635 of a culture shock.
12637 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12638 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12640 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12641 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12642 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12643 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12645 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12647 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12648 deleted? How awful!
12650 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12651 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12652 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12653 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12656 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12657 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12658 they want to treat a message.
12660 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12661 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12662 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12663 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12664 archived somewhere else.
12666 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12667 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12668 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12669 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12670 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12672 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12673 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12674 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12676 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12677 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12680 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12681 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12682 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12683 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12684 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12686 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12687 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12688 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12689 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12690 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12691 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12695 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12696 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12698 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12699 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12700 and things will happen automatically.
12702 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12703 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12706 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12709 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12710 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12711 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12712 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12713 like any other group.
12715 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12718 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12719 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12720 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12724 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12725 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12726 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12729 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12730 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12731 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12734 @node Splitting Mail
12735 @subsection Splitting Mail
12736 @cindex splitting mail
12737 @cindex mail splitting
12739 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12740 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12741 to be split into groups.
12744 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12745 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12746 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12747 ("mail.other" "")))
12750 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12751 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12752 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12753 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12754 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12755 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12756 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12759 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12762 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12763 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12764 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12765 mail belongs in that group.
12767 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12768 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12769 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12770 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12771 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12772 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12774 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12775 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12776 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12777 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12778 thinks should carry this mail message.
12780 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12781 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12782 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12783 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12785 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12786 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12787 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12788 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12789 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12791 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12794 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12795 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12796 links. If that's the case for you, set
12797 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12798 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12800 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12801 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12802 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12803 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12804 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12805 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12808 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12809 Header lines longer than the value of
12810 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12813 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12814 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12815 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12816 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12817 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12818 can be turned off completely by binding
12819 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12820 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12822 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12823 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12824 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12825 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12826 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12827 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12828 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12831 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12832 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12833 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12834 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12835 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12836 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12837 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12838 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12839 month's rent money.
12843 @subsection Mail Sources
12845 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12846 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12850 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12851 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12852 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12856 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12857 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12859 @cindex mail server
12862 @cindex mail source
12864 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12865 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12870 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12873 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12874 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12875 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12878 The following mail source types are available:
12882 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12888 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12889 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12890 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12894 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12897 An example file mail source:
12900 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12903 Or using the default file name:
12909 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12910 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12911 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12914 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12918 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12921 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12925 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12928 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12930 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12933 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12937 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12938 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12939 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12940 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12941 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12942 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12943 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12944 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12945 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12946 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12948 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12949 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12950 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12951 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12957 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12961 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12965 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12966 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12967 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12968 predicate are considered.
12972 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12976 An example directory mail source:
12979 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12984 Get mail from a POP server.
12990 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12991 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12994 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12995 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12996 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12997 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12998 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13001 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
13005 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
13009 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
13010 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13013 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13016 The valid format specifier characters are:
13020 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13021 included in this string.
13024 The name of the server.
13027 The port number of the server.
13030 The user name to use.
13033 The password to use.
13036 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13037 corresponding keywords.
13040 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13041 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13044 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13045 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13048 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13049 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13052 @item :authentication
13053 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13054 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13058 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13059 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13060 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13061 programs and libraries:
13065 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13066 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13067 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13069 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13070 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13075 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13076 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13080 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13081 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13083 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13084 default user name, and default fetcher:
13090 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13093 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13094 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13097 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13100 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13104 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13105 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13106 contains exactly one mail.
13112 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13113 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13116 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13117 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13119 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13120 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13121 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13124 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13125 from locking problems).
13129 Two example maildir mail sources:
13132 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13133 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13137 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13142 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13143 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13144 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13145 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13148 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13149 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13155 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13156 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13159 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13160 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13163 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13167 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13171 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13172 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13173 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13174 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13176 @item :authentication
13177 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13178 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13179 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13180 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13183 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13184 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13185 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13191 The valid format specifier characters are:
13195 The name of the server.
13198 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13201 The port number of the server.
13204 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13205 corresponding keywords.
13208 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13209 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13212 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13213 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13214 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13215 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13216 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13217 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13220 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13221 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13222 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13223 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13226 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13227 after finishing the fetch.
13231 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13234 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13236 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13240 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13241 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13242 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13244 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13245 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13247 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13253 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13254 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13257 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13261 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13265 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13266 folder after finishing the fetch.
13270 An example webmail source:
13273 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13275 :password "secret")
13280 @item Common Keywords
13281 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13287 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13288 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13292 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13297 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13298 useful when you use local mail and news.
13303 @subsubsection Function Interface
13305 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13306 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13307 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13308 consider the following mail-source setting:
13311 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13312 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13315 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13316 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13317 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13318 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13319 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13321 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13324 @node Mail Source Customization
13325 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13327 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13328 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13332 @item mail-source-crash-box
13333 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13334 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13335 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13337 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13338 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13339 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13341 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13342 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13343 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13345 @item mail-source-directory
13346 @vindex mail-source-directory
13347 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13348 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13349 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13352 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13353 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13354 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13355 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13356 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13357 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13359 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13360 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13361 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13363 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13364 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13365 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13366 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13371 @node Fetching Mail
13372 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13374 @vindex mail-sources
13375 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13376 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13377 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13378 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13380 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13381 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13384 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13385 mail server, you'd say something like:
13390 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13391 :password "secret")))
13394 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13398 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13399 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13402 :password "secret")))
13406 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13407 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13408 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13409 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13410 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13411 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13415 @node Mail Back End Variables
13416 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13418 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13422 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13423 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13424 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13425 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13427 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13428 @item nnmail-split-hook
13429 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13430 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13431 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13432 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13433 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13434 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13435 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13436 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13437 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13440 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13441 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13442 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13443 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13444 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13445 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13446 starting to handle the new mail) and
13447 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13448 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13449 default file modes the new mail files get:
13452 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13453 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13455 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13456 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13459 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13460 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13461 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13462 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13463 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13464 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13465 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13467 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13468 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13469 @findex delete-file
13470 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13472 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13473 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13474 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13475 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13476 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13478 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13479 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13480 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13481 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13482 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13484 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13485 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13486 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13491 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13492 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13493 @cindex mail splitting
13494 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13496 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13497 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13498 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13499 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13500 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13501 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13503 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13506 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13507 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13508 ;; from real errors.
13509 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13511 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13512 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13513 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13514 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13515 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13516 ;; Other mailing lists...
13517 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13518 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13519 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13520 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13521 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13522 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13523 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13524 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13526 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13527 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13531 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13532 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13533 the five possible split syntaxes:
13538 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13539 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13543 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13544 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13545 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13546 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13547 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13548 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13549 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13550 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13553 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13554 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13555 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13556 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13559 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13560 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13563 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13564 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13567 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13568 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13569 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13570 function should return a @var{split}.
13573 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13574 body of the messages:
13577 (defun split-on-body ()
13579 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13580 (goto-char (point-min))
13581 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13585 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13586 when the @code{:} function is run.
13589 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13590 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13591 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13595 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13599 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13600 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13601 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13602 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13603 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13605 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13606 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13607 are expanded as specified by the variable
13608 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13609 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13612 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13613 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13614 when all this splitting is performed.
13616 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13617 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13618 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13621 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13624 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13625 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13627 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13628 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13629 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13630 groupings 1 through 9.
13632 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13633 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13634 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13635 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13636 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13637 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13638 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13639 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13640 it once per thread.
13642 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13643 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13644 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13647 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13648 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13650 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13651 ;; other splits go here
13655 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13656 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13657 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13658 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13659 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13660 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13661 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13662 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13663 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13664 unless the group name matches the regexp
13665 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13666 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13667 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13668 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13669 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13670 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13671 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13672 messages goes into the new group.
13674 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13675 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13676 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13677 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13678 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13682 @node Group Mail Splitting
13683 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13684 @cindex mail splitting
13685 @cindex group mail splitting
13687 @findex gnus-group-split
13688 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13689 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13690 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13691 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13692 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13693 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13694 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13695 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13697 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13698 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13699 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13700 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13702 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13703 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13704 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13705 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13706 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13707 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13708 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13710 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13711 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13712 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13713 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13714 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13715 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13716 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13718 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13719 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13720 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13721 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13722 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13723 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13724 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13725 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13726 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13727 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13728 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13729 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13730 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13732 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13737 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13738 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13740 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13741 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13742 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13743 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13745 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13748 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13749 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13750 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13753 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13754 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13755 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13759 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13760 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13761 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13765 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13768 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13769 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13770 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13771 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13772 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13773 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13774 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13775 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13776 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13778 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13779 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13780 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13781 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13782 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13783 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13784 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13785 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13786 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13788 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13789 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13790 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13791 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13792 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13793 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13796 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13799 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13800 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13801 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13802 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13803 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13806 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13807 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13808 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13809 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13811 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13812 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13813 @cindex incorporating old mail
13814 @cindex import old mail
13816 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13817 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13818 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13821 Doing so can be quite easy.
13823 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13824 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13825 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13826 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13827 your @code{nnml} groups.
13833 Go to the group buffer.
13836 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13837 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13840 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13843 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13844 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13847 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13848 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13851 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13852 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13853 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13854 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13855 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13857 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13858 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13859 using the new mail back end.
13862 @node Expiring Mail
13863 @subsection Expiring Mail
13864 @cindex article expiry
13866 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13867 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13868 different approach to mail reading.
13870 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13871 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13872 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13873 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13874 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13875 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13878 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13879 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13880 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13881 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13882 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13883 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13884 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13885 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13886 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13888 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13889 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13890 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13891 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13892 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13893 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13894 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13897 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13898 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13899 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13900 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13901 into its own group.)
13903 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13904 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13905 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13906 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13907 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13908 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13909 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13910 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13913 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13914 Groups that match the regular expression
13915 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13916 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13917 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13919 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13920 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13921 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13922 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13923 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13925 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13927 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13928 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13929 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13932 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13933 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13934 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13935 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13936 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13938 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13939 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13942 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13943 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13946 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13947 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13949 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13950 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13951 don't really mix very well.
13953 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13954 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13955 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13956 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13959 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13960 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13961 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13962 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13965 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13967 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13969 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13971 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13973 ((string= group "important")
13979 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13980 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13982 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13983 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13984 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13987 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13988 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13990 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13991 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13992 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13993 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13994 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13995 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13996 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13997 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13998 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13999 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14000 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14001 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
14002 name or @code{delete}.
14004 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14006 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14009 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14010 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14011 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14012 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14013 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14016 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14017 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14018 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14019 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14020 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14023 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14024 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14025 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14026 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14027 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14028 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14030 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14031 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14032 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14033 easier for procmail users.
14035 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14036 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14037 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14038 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14039 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14040 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14041 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14042 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14043 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14044 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14045 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14046 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14047 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14050 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14052 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14053 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14054 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14055 auto-expire turned on.
14059 @subsection Washing Mail
14060 @cindex mail washing
14061 @cindex list server brain damage
14062 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14064 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14065 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14066 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14067 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14068 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14069 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14071 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14072 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14073 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14076 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14077 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14078 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14079 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14082 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14083 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14084 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14085 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14086 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14089 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14090 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14091 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14092 Emacs running on MS machines.
14096 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14097 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14098 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14099 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14102 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14103 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14104 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14105 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14107 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14108 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14109 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14110 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14111 into a feature by documenting it.)
14113 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14114 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14115 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14116 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14117 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14118 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14119 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14122 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14123 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14126 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14127 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14130 This can also be done non-destructively with
14131 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14133 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14134 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14135 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14137 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14138 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14140 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14141 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14142 @code{References} headers.
14146 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14147 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14148 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14152 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14153 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14154 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14161 @subsection Duplicates
14163 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14164 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14165 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14166 @cindex duplicate mails
14167 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14168 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14169 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14170 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14171 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14172 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14173 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14174 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14175 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14176 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14177 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14178 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14179 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14181 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14182 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14183 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14184 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14186 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14189 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14190 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14194 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14195 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14196 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14197 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14198 (any mail "mail.misc")
14205 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14206 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14211 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14212 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14213 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14214 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14215 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14218 @node Not Reading Mail
14219 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14221 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14222 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14223 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14225 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14226 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14227 mail, which should help.
14229 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14230 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14231 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14232 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14233 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14234 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14235 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14236 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14237 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14238 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14239 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14241 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14242 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14246 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14247 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14249 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14250 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14251 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14253 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14254 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14255 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14256 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14257 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14258 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14259 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14262 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14263 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14264 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14265 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14266 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14267 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14271 @node Unix Mail Box
14272 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14274 @cindex unix mail box
14276 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14277 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14278 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14279 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14280 which group it belongs in.
14282 Virtual server settings:
14285 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14286 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14287 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14290 @item nnmbox-active-file
14291 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14292 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14293 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14295 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14296 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14297 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14298 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14303 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14307 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14308 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14309 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14310 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14311 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14313 Virtual server settings:
14316 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14317 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14318 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14320 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14321 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14322 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14323 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14325 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14326 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14327 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14333 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14335 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14337 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14338 format. It should be used with some caution.
14340 @vindex nnml-directory
14341 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14342 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14343 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14344 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14346 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14349 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14350 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14351 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14352 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14353 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14354 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14355 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14356 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14358 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14359 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14360 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14361 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14363 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14365 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14366 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14367 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14368 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14369 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14370 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14371 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14372 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14375 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14376 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14377 them next time it starts.
14379 Virtual server settings:
14382 @item nnml-directory
14383 @vindex nnml-directory
14384 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14385 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14388 @item nnml-active-file
14389 @vindex nnml-active-file
14390 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14391 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14393 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14394 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14395 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14396 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14398 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14399 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14400 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14403 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14404 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14405 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14406 default is @code{nil}.
14408 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14409 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14410 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14412 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14413 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14414 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14416 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14417 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14418 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14419 default is @code{nil}.
14421 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14422 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14423 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14425 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14426 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14427 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14432 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14433 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14434 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14435 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14436 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14437 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14438 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14443 @subsubsection MH Spool
14445 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14447 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14448 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14449 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14450 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14452 Virtual server settings:
14455 @item nnmh-directory
14456 @vindex nnmh-directory
14457 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14458 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14461 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14462 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14463 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14467 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14468 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14469 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14470 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14471 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14472 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14473 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14478 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14480 @cindex mbox folders
14481 @cindex mail folders
14483 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14484 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14485 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14488 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14490 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14491 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14492 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14493 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14494 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14495 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14496 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14497 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14498 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14499 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14501 Virtual server settings:
14504 @item nnfolder-directory
14505 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14506 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14507 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14510 @item nnfolder-active-file
14511 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14512 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14514 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14515 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14516 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14517 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14519 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14520 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14521 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14524 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14525 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14526 @cindex backup files
14527 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14528 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14529 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14530 your @file{.emacs} file:
14533 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14534 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14536 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14539 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14540 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14541 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14542 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14543 extract some information from it before removing it.
14545 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14546 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14547 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14548 default is @code{nil}.
14550 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14551 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14552 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14554 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14555 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14556 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14557 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14559 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14560 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14561 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14562 default is @code{nil}.
14564 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14565 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14566 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14568 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14569 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14570 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14571 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14576 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14577 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14578 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14579 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14580 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14581 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14584 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14585 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14587 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14588 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14589 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14590 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14591 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14593 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14594 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14595 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14596 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14597 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14598 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14599 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14600 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14603 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14604 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14605 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14606 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14611 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14612 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14613 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14614 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14615 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14616 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14617 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14618 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14619 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14620 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14621 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14622 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14623 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14628 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14629 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14630 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14631 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14632 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14633 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14634 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14635 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14636 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14637 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14638 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14639 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14640 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14641 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14643 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14644 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14649 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14650 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14651 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14652 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14653 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14654 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14655 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14656 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14657 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14658 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14659 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14660 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14661 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14662 provided by the active file and overviews.
14664 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14665 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14666 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14667 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14668 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14671 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14672 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14677 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14678 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14679 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14680 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14681 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14682 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14683 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14687 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14688 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14689 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14690 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14691 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14692 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14693 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14694 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14695 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14697 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14698 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14699 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14700 friendly mail back end all over.
14704 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14705 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14706 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14707 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14708 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14709 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14710 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14711 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14714 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14715 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14716 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14717 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14718 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14719 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14720 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14721 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14722 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14723 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14724 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14726 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14727 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14728 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14729 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14730 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14731 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14732 This will probably be changed in the future.
14734 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14735 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14736 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14737 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14738 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14741 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14742 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14744 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14745 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14746 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14747 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14748 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14749 would) to make it use less memory.
14751 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14752 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14753 depending in part on your file system.
14755 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14756 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14761 @node Browsing the Web
14762 @section Browsing the Web
14764 @cindex browsing the web
14768 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14769 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14770 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14771 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14772 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14773 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14774 even know what a news group is.
14776 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14777 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14778 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14779 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14780 you mad in the end.
14782 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14785 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14786 interfaces to these sources.
14790 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14791 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14792 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14793 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14794 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14795 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14798 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14800 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14801 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14802 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14803 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14804 though, you should be ok.
14806 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14807 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14808 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14809 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14810 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14812 @node Archiving Mail
14813 @subsection Archiving Mail
14814 @cindex archiving mail
14815 @cindex backup of mail
14817 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14818 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14819 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14820 marks is fairly simple.
14822 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14823 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14826 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14827 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14828 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14829 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14830 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14831 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14832 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14833 before you restore the data.
14835 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14836 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14837 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14838 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14839 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14840 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14841 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14842 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14843 is unnecessary in that case.
14846 @subsection Web Searches
14851 @cindex Usenet searches
14852 @cindex searching the Usenet
14854 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14855 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14856 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14857 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14858 searches without having to use a browser.
14860 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14861 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14862 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14863 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14864 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14866 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14867 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14868 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14869 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14870 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14871 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14872 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14873 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14874 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14875 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14878 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14879 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14880 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14881 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14882 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14883 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14885 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14886 to use @code{nnweb}.
14888 Virtual server variables:
14893 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14894 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14895 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14898 @vindex nnweb-search
14899 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14901 @item nnweb-max-hits
14902 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14903 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14906 @item nnweb-type-definition
14907 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14908 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14909 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14914 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14918 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14921 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14924 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14928 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14935 @subsection Slashdot
14939 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14940 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14941 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14943 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14944 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14947 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14948 '((nnslashdot "")))
14951 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14952 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14953 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14954 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14955 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14958 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14959 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14961 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14962 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14963 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14964 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14965 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14966 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14969 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14972 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14973 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14974 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14975 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14976 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14977 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14978 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14980 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14981 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14982 The login name to use when posting.
14984 @item nnslashdot-password
14985 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14986 The password to use when posting.
14988 @item nnslashdot-directory
14989 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14990 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14991 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
14993 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14994 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14995 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14996 news articles and comments. The default is
14997 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14999 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15000 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15001 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15003 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15005 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15006 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15007 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15009 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15011 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15012 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15013 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15015 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15016 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15017 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15018 updated. The default is 0.
15025 @subsection Ultimate
15027 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15029 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
15030 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15031 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15032 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15034 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15035 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15036 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15037 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15038 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15039 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15040 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15042 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15045 @item nnultimate-directory
15046 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15047 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15048 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15053 @subsection Web Archive
15055 @cindex Web Archive
15057 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15058 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15059 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15060 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15063 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15064 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15065 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15066 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15067 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15068 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15069 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15070 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15072 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15075 @item nnwarchive-directory
15076 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15077 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15078 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15080 @item nnwarchive-login
15081 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15082 The account name on the web server.
15084 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15085 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15086 The password for your account on the web server.
15094 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15095 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15096 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15099 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15100 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15103 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15106 @item nnrss-directory
15107 @vindex nnrss-directory
15108 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15109 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15113 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15114 the summary buffer.
15117 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15118 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15120 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15122 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15123 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15126 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15129 (require 'browse-url)
15131 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15133 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15136 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15137 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15140 (browse-url (cdr url))
15141 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15142 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15144 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15145 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15146 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15147 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15150 @node Customizing w3
15151 @subsection Customizing w3
15157 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15158 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15159 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15161 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15162 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15163 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15166 (eval-after-load "w3"
15168 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15169 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15170 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15171 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15173 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15176 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15177 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15186 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15187 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15188 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15189 specify the network address of the server.
15191 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15192 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15193 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15194 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15195 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15197 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15198 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15199 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15200 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15202 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15203 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15204 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15205 usage explained in this section.
15207 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15208 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15209 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15212 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15213 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15214 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15216 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15217 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15218 ; a UW server running on localhost
15220 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15221 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15222 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15223 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15224 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15225 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15226 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15227 (nnimap-stream network))
15228 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15230 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15231 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15232 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15235 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15236 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15237 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15238 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15240 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15245 @item nnimap-address
15246 @vindex nnimap-address
15248 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15249 server name if not specified.
15251 @item nnimap-server-port
15252 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15253 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15255 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15258 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15259 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15262 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15263 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15264 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15265 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15266 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15267 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15268 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15270 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15271 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15272 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15275 Example server specification:
15278 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15279 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15280 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15283 @item nnimap-stream
15284 @vindex nnimap-stream
15285 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15286 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15287 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15288 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15290 Example server specification:
15293 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15294 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15297 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15301 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15302 @samp{imtest} program.
15304 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15306 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15307 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15310 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15311 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15312 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15314 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15316 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15319 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15320 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15321 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15322 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15323 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15324 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15325 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15326 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15327 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15330 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15331 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15332 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15333 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15334 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15335 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15336 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15337 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15338 distribution, for instance).
15340 @vindex imap-shell-program
15341 @vindex imap-shell-host
15342 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15343 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15345 @item nnimap-authenticator
15346 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15348 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15349 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15351 Example server specification:
15354 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15355 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15358 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15362 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15363 external program @code{imtest}.
15365 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15368 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15369 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15371 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15373 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15375 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15378 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15380 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15381 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15382 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15383 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15384 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15385 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15388 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15389 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15390 running in circles yet?
15392 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15393 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15396 The possible options are:
15401 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15404 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15405 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15406 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15407 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15409 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15414 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15415 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15417 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15418 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15419 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15420 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15421 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15424 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15425 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15428 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15429 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15430 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15431 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15434 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15435 as ticked for other users.
15437 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15439 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15441 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15442 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15443 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15444 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15446 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15447 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15448 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15449 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15451 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15452 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15454 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15455 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15456 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15462 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15463 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15464 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15465 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15466 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15471 @node Splitting in IMAP
15472 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15473 @cindex splitting imap mail
15475 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15476 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15477 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15478 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15479 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15483 Here are the variables of interest:
15487 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15488 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15490 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15492 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15493 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15495 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15497 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15498 @cindex splitting, inbox
15500 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15502 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15503 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15507 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15508 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15511 No nnmail equivalent.
15513 @item nnimap-split-rule
15514 @cindex Splitting, rules
15515 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15517 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15520 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15521 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15522 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15523 Neither did I, we need examples.
15526 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15528 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15529 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15530 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15533 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15534 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15535 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15537 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15538 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15542 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15545 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15546 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15548 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15549 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15550 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15551 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15553 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15554 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15555 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15556 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15557 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15558 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15560 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15561 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15562 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15564 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15565 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15566 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15568 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15570 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15571 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15572 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15575 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15576 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15577 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15578 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15579 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15580 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15583 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15584 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15585 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15586 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15587 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15588 group/function elements.
15590 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15592 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15594 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15596 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15597 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15599 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15600 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15601 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15604 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15605 @cindex splitting, fancy
15606 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15607 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15609 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15610 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15611 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15613 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15614 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15615 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15616 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15621 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15622 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15625 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15627 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15628 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15629 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15631 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15632 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15633 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15634 analyses the body to split the article.
15638 @node Expiring in IMAP
15639 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15640 @cindex expiring imap mail
15642 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
15643 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
15644 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
15645 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
15646 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
15647 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
15650 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15651 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15652 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15653 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15654 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15655 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15656 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15657 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15661 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15662 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15664 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15665 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15667 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15669 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15670 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15671 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15672 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15676 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15677 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15678 @cindex editing imap acls
15679 @cindex Access Control Lists
15680 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15682 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15684 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15685 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15686 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15689 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15690 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15691 editing window with detailed instructions.
15693 Some possible uses:
15697 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15698 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15699 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15701 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15702 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15703 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15707 @node Expunging mailboxes
15708 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15712 @cindex Manual expunging
15714 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15716 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15717 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15718 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15720 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15723 @node A note on namespaces
15724 @subsection A note on namespaces
15725 @cindex IMAP namespace
15728 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15729 following text in the RFC:
15732 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15734 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15735 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15736 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15737 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15739 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15740 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15741 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15742 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15743 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15744 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15747 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15748 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15749 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15751 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15752 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15753 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15754 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15755 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15756 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15757 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15758 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15760 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15761 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15762 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15764 @node Other Sources
15765 @section Other Sources
15767 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15768 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15772 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15773 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15774 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15775 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15776 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15780 @node Directory Groups
15781 @subsection Directory Groups
15783 @cindex directory groups
15785 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15786 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15789 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15790 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15791 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15792 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15794 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15795 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15796 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15797 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15798 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15800 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15802 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15803 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15804 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15805 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15808 @node Anything Groups
15809 @subsection Anything Groups
15812 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15813 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15814 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15817 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15818 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15819 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15820 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15821 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15822 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15823 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15824 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15825 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15826 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15829 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15830 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15831 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15832 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15834 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15835 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15836 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15837 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15839 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15840 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15841 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15842 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15843 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15844 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15845 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15846 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15851 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15852 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15853 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15854 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15856 @item nneething-exclude-files
15857 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15858 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15859 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15861 @item nneething-include-files
15862 @vindex nneething-include-files
15863 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15864 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15866 @item nneething-map-file
15867 @vindex nneething-map-file
15868 Name of the map files.
15872 @node Document Groups
15873 @subsection Document Groups
15875 @cindex documentation group
15878 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15879 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15886 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15891 The standard Unix mbox file.
15893 @cindex MMDF mail box
15895 The MMDF mail box format.
15898 Several news articles appended into a file.
15901 @cindex rnews batch files
15902 The rnews batch transport format.
15903 @cindex forwarded messages
15906 Forwarded articles.
15909 Netscape mail boxes.
15912 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15914 @item standard-digest
15915 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15918 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15920 @item lanl-gov-announce
15921 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15923 @item rfc822-forward
15924 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15927 The Outlook mail box.
15930 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15933 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15936 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15939 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15945 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15948 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15954 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15955 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15956 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15959 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15960 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15961 group. And that's it.
15963 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15964 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15965 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15966 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15967 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15968 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15969 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15970 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15971 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15972 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15974 Virtual server variables:
15977 @item nndoc-article-type
15978 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15979 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15980 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15981 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15982 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15983 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15985 @item nndoc-post-type
15986 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15987 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15988 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15993 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15997 @node Document Server Internals
15998 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16000 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16001 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16002 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16003 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16005 First, here's an example document type definition:
16009 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16010 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16013 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16014 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16015 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16016 types can be defined with very few settings:
16019 @item first-article
16020 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16021 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16024 @item article-begin
16025 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16026 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16028 @item head-begin-function
16029 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16032 @item nndoc-head-begin
16033 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16036 @item nndoc-head-end
16037 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16038 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16040 @item body-begin-function
16041 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16045 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16048 @item body-end-function
16049 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16053 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16056 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16057 regexp will be totally ignored.
16061 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16062 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16063 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16064 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16065 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16068 @item prepare-body-function
16069 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16070 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16071 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16073 @item article-transform-function
16074 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16075 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16076 body of the article.
16078 @item generate-head-function
16079 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16080 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16081 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16082 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16086 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16091 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16092 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16093 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16094 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16095 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16096 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16097 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16098 (subtype digest guess))
16101 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16102 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16103 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16104 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16105 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16107 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16108 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
16109 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
16110 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
16111 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
16112 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16113 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
16114 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16115 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
16116 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16124 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16125 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16126 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16128 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16129 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16130 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16133 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16134 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16135 that interested in doing things properly.
16137 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16138 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16141 First some terminology:
16146 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16147 get news and/or mail from.
16150 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16151 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16154 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16158 @item message packets
16159 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16160 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16161 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16163 @item response packets
16164 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16165 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16166 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16176 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16177 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16178 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16179 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16182 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16185 You put the packet in your home directory.
16188 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16189 the native or secondary server.
16192 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16193 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16196 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16200 You transfer this packet to the server.
16203 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16206 You then repeat until you die.
16210 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16211 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16214 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16215 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16216 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16220 @node SOUP Commands
16221 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16223 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16227 @kindex G s b (Group)
16228 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16229 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16230 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16231 process/prefix convention.
16234 @kindex G s w (Group)
16235 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16236 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16239 @kindex G s s (Group)
16240 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16241 Send all replies from the replies packet
16242 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16245 @kindex G s p (Group)
16246 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16247 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16250 @kindex G s r (Group)
16251 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16252 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16255 @kindex O s (Summary)
16256 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16257 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16258 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16259 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16264 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16269 @item gnus-soup-directory
16270 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16271 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16272 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16274 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16275 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16276 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16277 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16279 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16280 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16281 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16282 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16284 @item gnus-soup-packer
16285 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16286 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16287 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16289 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16290 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16291 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16292 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16294 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16295 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16296 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16298 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16299 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16300 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16301 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16307 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16310 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16311 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16312 you can read them at leisure.
16314 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16318 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16319 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16320 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16321 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16323 @item nnsoup-directory
16324 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16325 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16326 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16328 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16329 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16330 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16331 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16333 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16334 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16335 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16336 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16337 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16339 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16340 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16341 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16342 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16344 @item nnsoup-active-file
16345 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16346 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16347 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16348 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16349 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16351 @item nnsoup-packer
16352 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16353 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16354 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16356 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16357 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16358 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16359 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16361 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16362 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16363 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16366 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16367 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16368 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16371 @item nnsoup-always-save
16372 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16373 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16379 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16381 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16382 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16383 more for that to happen.
16385 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16386 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16387 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16390 In specific, this is what it does:
16393 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16394 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16397 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16398 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16399 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16402 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16403 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16404 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16407 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16408 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16409 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16411 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16417 @item nngateway-address
16418 @vindex nngateway-address
16419 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16421 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16422 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16423 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16424 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16425 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16426 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16427 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16430 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16431 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16432 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16435 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16438 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16441 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16444 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16446 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16449 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16450 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16451 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16453 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16455 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16456 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16457 @code{nngateway-address}.
16462 (setq gnus-post-method
16464 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16465 (nngateway-header-transformation
16466 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16474 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16477 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16482 @node Combined Groups
16483 @section Combined Groups
16485 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16489 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16490 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16494 @node Virtual Groups
16495 @subsection Virtual Groups
16497 @cindex virtual groups
16498 @cindex merging groups
16500 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16503 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16504 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16505 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16507 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16508 regexp to match component groups.
16510 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16511 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16512 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16513 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16514 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16515 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16516 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16517 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16519 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16520 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16523 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16526 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16527 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16529 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16530 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16531 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16532 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16535 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16538 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16539 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16540 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16542 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16543 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16544 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16545 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16546 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16548 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16549 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16550 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16552 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16553 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16554 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16555 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16556 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16557 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16558 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16559 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16560 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16561 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16562 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16564 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16565 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16566 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16567 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16568 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16569 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16570 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16572 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16573 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16575 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16576 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16580 @node Kibozed Groups
16581 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16585 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16586 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16587 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16588 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16590 @kindex G k (Group)
16591 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16594 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16595 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16596 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16597 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16599 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16600 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16601 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16603 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16604 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16605 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16606 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16607 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16608 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16609 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16610 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16612 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16613 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16614 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16615 Stranger things have happened.
16617 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16618 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16620 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16621 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16622 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16623 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16624 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16625 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16627 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16628 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16631 @node Gnus Unplugged
16632 @section Gnus Unplugged
16637 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16639 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16640 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16641 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16642 read news. Believe it or not.
16644 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16645 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16646 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16647 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16648 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16650 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16651 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16652 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16653 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16654 reading news on a machine.
16656 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16657 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16659 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16662 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16663 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16664 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16665 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16666 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16667 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
16668 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16669 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16670 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16671 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16672 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16673 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16678 @subsection Agent Basics
16680 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16682 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16683 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16684 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16685 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16687 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16688 connected to the net continuously.
16690 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16691 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16693 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16698 @findex gnus-unplugged
16699 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16700 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16701 already fetched while in this mode.
16704 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16705 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16706 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16707 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16708 Source Specifiers}).
16711 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16712 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16713 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16714 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16715 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16718 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16719 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16720 then you read the news offline.
16723 And then you go to step 2.
16726 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16732 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16733 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16734 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16735 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16736 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16737 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16738 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16739 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16742 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16749 @node Agent Categories
16750 @subsection Agent Categories
16752 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16753 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16754 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16755 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16756 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16757 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16758 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16760 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16761 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16762 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16763 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16764 managing categories.
16767 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16768 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16769 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16773 @node Category Syntax
16774 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16776 A category consists of two things.
16780 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16781 are eligible for downloading; and
16784 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16785 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16786 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16789 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16790 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16791 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16792 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16794 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16795 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16796 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16798 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16799 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16800 operators sprinkled in between.
16802 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16804 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16805 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16811 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16812 short (for some value of ``short'').
16814 Here's a more complex predicate:
16823 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16824 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16827 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16828 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16829 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16831 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16832 you want to do, you can write your own.
16836 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16837 lines; default 100.
16840 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16841 lines; default 200.
16844 True iff the article has a download score less than
16845 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16848 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16849 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16852 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16853 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16854 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16863 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16864 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16865 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16868 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16869 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16870 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16871 something along the lines of the following:
16874 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16875 "Say whether an article is old."
16876 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16877 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16880 with the predicate then defined as:
16883 (not my-article-old-p)
16886 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16887 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16891 (require 'gnus-agent)
16892 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16893 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16894 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16897 and simply specify your predicate as:
16903 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16904 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16905 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16906 just don't give a damn.
16908 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
16909 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16910 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16911 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16912 parameters like so:
16915 (agent-predicate . short)
16918 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16919 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16920 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16922 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16925 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16928 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16929 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16930 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16933 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16934 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16935 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16936 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16937 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16938 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16940 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16941 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16942 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16943 if it's to be specific to that group.
16945 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16952 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16953 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16959 Category specification
16963 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16969 Group Parameter specification
16972 (agent-score ("from"
16973 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16978 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16984 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
16985 keywords stated above.
16991 Category specification
16994 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17000 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17004 Group Parameter specification
17007 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17010 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17015 Use @code{normal} score files
17017 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17018 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17019 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17020 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17022 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17023 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17024 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17025 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17029 Category Specification
17036 Group Parameter specification
17039 (agent-score . file)
17044 @node Category Buffer
17045 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17047 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17048 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17049 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17051 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17055 @kindex q (Category)
17056 @findex gnus-category-exit
17057 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17060 @kindex k (Category)
17061 @findex gnus-category-kill
17062 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17065 @kindex c (Category)
17066 @findex gnus-category-copy
17067 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17070 @kindex a (Category)
17071 @findex gnus-category-add
17072 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17075 @kindex p (Category)
17076 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17077 Edit the predicate of the current category
17078 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17081 @kindex g (Category)
17082 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17083 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17084 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17087 @kindex s (Category)
17088 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17089 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17090 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17093 @kindex l (Category)
17094 @findex gnus-category-list
17095 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17099 @node Category Variables
17100 @subsubsection Category Variables
17103 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17104 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17105 Hook run in category buffers.
17107 @item gnus-category-line-format
17108 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17109 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17110 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17114 The name of the category.
17117 The number of groups in the category.
17120 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17121 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17122 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17124 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17125 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17126 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17128 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17129 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17130 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17132 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17133 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17134 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17137 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17138 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17139 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17145 @node Agent Commands
17146 @subsection Agent Commands
17147 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17148 @kindex J j (Agent)
17150 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17151 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17152 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17156 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17157 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17158 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17164 @node Group Agent Commands
17165 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17169 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17170 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17171 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17172 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17175 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17176 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17177 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17180 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17181 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17182 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17183 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17186 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17187 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17188 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17189 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17192 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17193 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17194 Add the current group to an Agent category
17195 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17196 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17199 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17200 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17201 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17202 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17203 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17206 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17207 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17208 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17214 @node Summary Agent Commands
17215 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17219 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17220 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17221 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17224 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17225 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17226 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17227 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17231 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17232 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17233 Toggle whether to download the article
17234 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17238 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17239 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17240 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17243 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17244 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17245 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17246 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17249 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17250 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17251 Download all processable articles in this group.
17252 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17255 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17256 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17257 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17258 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17263 @node Server Agent Commands
17264 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17268 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17269 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17270 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17271 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17274 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17275 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17276 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17277 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17282 @node Agent as Cache
17283 @subsection Agent as Cache
17285 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17286 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17287 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17288 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17289 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17290 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17291 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17292 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17293 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17295 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17296 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17299 @subsection Agent Expiry
17301 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17302 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17303 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17304 @cindex Agent expiry
17305 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17308 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17309 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17310 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17311 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17312 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17313 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17315 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17316 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17317 synchronized with the group.
17319 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17320 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17321 expiry in different groups.
17324 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17330 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17331 method---it must always match all groups. Also, for a regexp to match,
17332 it must match from the beginning of the group's name.
17334 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17335 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17336 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17337 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17338 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17340 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17341 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17342 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17344 @node Agent Regeneration
17345 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17347 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17348 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17349 @cindex regeneration
17351 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17352 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17353 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17354 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17355 internal inconsistencies.
17357 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17358 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17359 know about articles downloaded prior to the connection failure.
17360 Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17361 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17362 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17364 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17365 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17366 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17367 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17368 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17369 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17371 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17372 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17373 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17374 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17375 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17376 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17379 @node Agent and IMAP
17380 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17382 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17383 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17384 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17385 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17387 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17388 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
17389 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17390 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17392 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17393 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17394 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17395 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17397 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17398 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17399 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17400 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17401 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17402 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17404 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17405 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17406 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17407 in the group buffer.
17409 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17410 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17415 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17418 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17422 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17423 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17424 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17425 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17426 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17427 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17428 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17429 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17432 @node Outgoing Messages
17433 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17435 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17436 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17437 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17439 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17440 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17441 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17442 messages in the draft group.
17446 @node Agent Variables
17447 @subsection Agent Variables
17450 @item gnus-agent-directory
17451 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17452 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17453 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17455 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17456 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17457 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17458 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17459 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17462 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17463 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17464 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17466 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17467 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17468 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17470 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17471 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17472 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17474 @item gnus-agent-cache
17475 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17476 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17477 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17478 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17480 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17481 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17482 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17483 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17484 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17485 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17486 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17489 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17490 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17491 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
17492 mark articles as unread after downloading. The default is t.
17494 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17495 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17496 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
17497 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
17498 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
17500 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17501 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17502 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
17503 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
17504 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
17505 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
17506 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
17507 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
17508 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
17509 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
17510 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
17511 available while unplugged).
17513 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17514 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17515 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17516 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17517 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17518 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17519 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17520 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17521 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17526 @node Example Setup
17527 @subsection Example Setup
17529 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17530 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17531 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17534 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17535 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17536 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17538 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17539 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17540 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17542 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17543 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17545 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17546 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17547 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17550 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17551 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17554 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17555 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17556 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17557 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17558 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17561 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17562 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17563 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17564 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17565 back all the killed groups.)
17567 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17568 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17569 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17572 @node Batching Agents
17573 @subsection Batching Agents
17574 @findex gnus-agent-batch
17576 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17577 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17578 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17580 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17581 following incantation:
17585 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17589 @node Agent Caveats
17590 @subsection Agent Caveats
17592 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17593 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17597 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17599 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17600 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17601 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17603 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17605 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
17609 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17610 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
17611 locally stored articles.
17618 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17619 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17620 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17623 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17624 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17625 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17626 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17627 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17629 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17630 before generating the summary buffer.
17632 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17633 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17634 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17636 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17637 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17638 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17639 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17642 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17643 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17644 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17645 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17646 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17647 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17648 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17649 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17650 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17651 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17652 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17653 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17654 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17655 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17656 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17657 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17658 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17662 @node Summary Score Commands
17663 @section Summary Score Commands
17664 @cindex score commands
17666 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17667 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17668 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17669 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17670 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17672 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17673 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17674 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17675 score file the current one.
17677 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17682 @kindex V s (Summary)
17683 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17684 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17687 @kindex V S (Summary)
17688 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17689 Display the score of the current article
17690 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17693 @kindex V t (Summary)
17694 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17695 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17696 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17699 @kindex V w (Summary)
17700 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17701 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17704 @kindex V R (Summary)
17705 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17706 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17707 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17708 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17709 effect you're having.
17712 @kindex V c (Summary)
17713 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17714 Make a different score file the current
17715 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17718 @kindex V e (Summary)
17719 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17720 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17721 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17725 @kindex V f (Summary)
17726 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17727 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17728 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17731 @kindex V F (Summary)
17732 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17733 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17734 after editing score files.
17737 @kindex V C (Summary)
17738 @findex gnus-score-customize
17739 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17740 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17744 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17749 @kindex V m (Summary)
17750 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17751 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17752 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17755 @kindex V x (Summary)
17756 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17757 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17758 expunge all articles below this score
17759 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17762 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17763 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17766 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17767 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17771 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17772 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17774 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17775 keys are available:
17779 Score on the author name.
17782 Score on the subject line.
17785 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17788 Score on the @code{References} line.
17794 Score on the number of lines.
17797 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17800 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17801 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17804 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17805 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17806 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17815 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17821 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17822 what headers you are scoring on.
17834 Substring matching.
17837 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17866 Greater than number.
17871 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17872 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17873 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17878 Temporary score entry.
17881 Permanent score entry.
17884 Immediately scoring.
17888 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17889 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17890 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17894 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17895 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17896 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17897 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17899 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17900 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17901 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17902 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17903 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17905 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17906 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17907 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17908 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17909 current score file.
17911 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17912 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17913 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17916 @node Group Score Commands
17917 @section Group Score Commands
17918 @cindex group score commands
17920 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17925 @kindex W f (Group)
17926 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17927 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17928 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17929 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17933 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17935 @findex gnus-batch-score
17936 @cindex batch scoring
17938 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17942 @node Score Variables
17943 @section Score Variables
17944 @cindex score variables
17948 @item gnus-use-scoring
17949 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17950 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17951 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17953 @item gnus-kill-killed
17954 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17955 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17956 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17957 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17958 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17959 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17960 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17962 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17963 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17964 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17965 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17966 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17968 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17969 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17970 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17971 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17973 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17974 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17975 @cindex score cache
17976 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17977 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17978 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17979 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17980 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17981 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17984 @item gnus-save-score
17985 @vindex gnus-save-score
17986 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17987 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17988 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17990 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17991 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17992 across group visits.
17994 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17995 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17996 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17997 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17998 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17999 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18000 manually entered data.
18002 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18003 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18004 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18006 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18007 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18008 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18009 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18010 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18011 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18013 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18014 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18015 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18016 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18018 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18019 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18020 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18021 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18023 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18024 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18025 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18026 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18028 Predefined functions available are:
18031 @item gnus-score-find-single
18032 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18033 Only apply the group's own score file.
18035 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18036 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18037 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18038 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18039 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18040 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18041 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18042 then a regexp match is done.
18044 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18045 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18047 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18048 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18049 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18050 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18052 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18053 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18054 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18055 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18056 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18060 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18061 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18062 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18063 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18064 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18065 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18066 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18069 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18070 overall score file, you could use the value
18072 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18073 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18076 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18077 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18078 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18079 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18080 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18082 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18083 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18084 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18085 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18086 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18087 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18088 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18089 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18091 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18092 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18093 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18095 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18096 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18097 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18098 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18099 threading---according to the current value of
18100 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18101 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18102 simplified in this manner.
18107 @node Score File Format
18108 @section Score File Format
18109 @cindex score file format
18111 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18112 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18113 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18115 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18119 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18121 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18123 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18125 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18130 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18134 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18135 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18136 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18137 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18141 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18142 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18144 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18145 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18146 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18148 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18153 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18154 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18155 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18156 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18157 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18158 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18159 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18160 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18161 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18162 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18163 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18164 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18165 to articles that matches these score entries.
18167 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18168 score entry has one to four elements.
18172 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18173 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18177 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18178 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18179 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18180 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18181 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18182 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18185 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18186 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18187 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18188 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18189 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18192 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18193 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18194 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18195 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18198 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18199 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18200 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18201 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18202 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18203 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18204 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18205 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18206 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18207 instead, if you feel like.
18210 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18211 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18212 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18213 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18214 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18215 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18218 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18222 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18223 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18225 These predicates are true if
18228 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18231 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18232 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18239 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18240 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18241 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18242 it's not. I think.)
18244 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18245 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18246 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18247 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18250 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18251 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18252 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18253 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18254 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18255 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18256 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18260 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18261 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18262 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18263 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18264 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18265 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18266 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18267 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18270 @item Head, Body, All
18271 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18275 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18276 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18277 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18278 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18279 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18280 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18281 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18285 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18286 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18287 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18288 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18289 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18290 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18291 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18292 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18293 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18294 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18295 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18299 @cindex Score File Atoms
18301 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18302 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18305 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18306 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18308 @item mark-and-expunge
18309 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18310 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18313 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18314 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18315 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18316 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18317 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18320 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18321 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18324 @item exclude-files
18325 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18326 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18330 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18331 ignored when handling global score files.
18334 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18335 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18336 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18337 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18340 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18341 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18342 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18343 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18345 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18349 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18352 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18353 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18354 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18355 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18356 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18358 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18359 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18360 scoring rules exist.
18363 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18364 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18365 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18366 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18367 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18368 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18369 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18370 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18371 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18372 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18373 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18377 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18378 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18379 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18380 file for a number of groups.
18383 @cindex local variables
18384 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18385 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18386 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18387 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18388 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18392 @node Score File Editing
18393 @section Score File Editing
18395 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18396 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18397 with a mode for that.
18399 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18400 additional commands:
18405 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18406 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18407 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18408 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18411 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18412 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18413 Insert the current date in numerical format
18414 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18415 you were wondering.
18418 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18419 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18420 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18421 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18422 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18427 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18429 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18430 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18432 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18433 e} to begin editing score files.
18436 @node Adaptive Scoring
18437 @section Adaptive Scoring
18438 @cindex adaptive scoring
18440 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18441 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18442 stupidity, to be precise.
18444 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18445 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18446 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18447 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18448 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18449 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18450 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18451 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18452 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18454 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18455 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18456 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18457 might look something like this:
18460 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18461 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18462 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18463 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18464 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18465 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18466 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18467 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18468 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18469 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18470 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18471 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18474 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18475 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18476 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18477 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18478 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18479 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18482 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18483 will be applied to each article.
18485 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18486 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18487 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18488 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18490 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18491 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18492 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18493 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18495 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18496 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18497 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18498 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18500 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18501 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18502 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18503 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18504 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18505 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18507 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18508 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18509 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18511 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18512 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18513 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18515 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18516 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18517 let you use different rules in different groups.
18519 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18520 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18521 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18524 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18525 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18526 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18527 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18528 the length of the match is less than
18529 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18530 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18533 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18534 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18535 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18536 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18537 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18540 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18541 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18542 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18543 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18544 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18547 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18548 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18549 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18550 score with 30 points.
18552 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18553 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18554 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18555 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18556 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18558 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18559 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18560 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18561 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18562 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18564 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18565 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18566 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18567 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18569 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18570 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18571 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18572 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18574 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18575 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18576 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18577 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18578 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18580 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18581 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18582 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18584 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18585 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18586 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18587 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18590 @node Home Score File
18591 @section Home Score File
18593 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18594 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18595 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18596 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18598 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18599 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18600 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18602 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18603 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18608 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18612 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18613 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18617 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18621 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18622 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18625 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18626 the home score file.
18629 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18632 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18637 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18640 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18641 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18644 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18645 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18647 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18649 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18650 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18653 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18654 Other functions include
18657 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18658 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18659 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18660 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18664 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18665 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18666 their own home score files:
18669 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18670 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18671 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18672 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18673 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18676 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18677 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18678 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18679 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18680 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18682 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18683 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18684 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18685 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18686 precedence over this variable.
18689 @node Followups To Yourself
18690 @section Followups To Yourself
18692 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18693 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18694 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18695 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18696 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18697 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18701 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18702 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18703 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18706 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18707 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18708 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18712 @vindex message-sent-hook
18713 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18714 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18716 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18720 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18721 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18725 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18726 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18729 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18730 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18735 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18739 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18740 is system-dependent.
18743 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18744 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18745 @cindex scoring on other headers
18747 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18748 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18749 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18750 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18751 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18753 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18754 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18755 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18756 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18757 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18759 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18762 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18763 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18766 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18767 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18768 time if you have much mail.
18770 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18771 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18777 @section Scoring Tips
18778 @cindex scoring tips
18784 @cindex scoring crossposts
18785 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18786 the @code{Xref} header.
18788 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18791 @item Multiple crossposts
18792 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18793 more than, say, 3 groups:
18796 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18800 @item Matching on the body
18801 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18802 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18803 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18804 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18805 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18806 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18807 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18810 @item Marking as read
18811 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18812 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18813 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18817 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18819 @item Negated character classes
18820 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18821 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18822 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18826 @node Reverse Scoring
18827 @section Reverse Scoring
18828 @cindex reverse scoring
18830 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18831 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18832 like this in your score file:
18836 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18841 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18842 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18845 @node Global Score Files
18846 @section Global Score Files
18847 @cindex global score files
18849 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18850 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18851 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18853 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18854 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18855 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18857 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18858 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18859 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18860 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18861 files are applicable to which group.
18863 To use the score file
18864 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18865 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18869 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18870 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18871 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18874 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18876 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18877 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18878 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18879 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18881 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18882 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18884 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18885 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18886 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18887 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18888 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18889 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18891 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18897 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18899 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18901 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18903 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18904 lowered out of existence.
18906 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18907 articles completely.
18910 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18911 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18912 old articles for a long time.
18915 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18916 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18917 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18918 holding our breath yet?
18922 @section Kill Files
18925 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18926 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18927 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18929 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18930 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18931 files into score files.
18933 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18934 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18935 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18936 that isn't a very good idea.
18938 Normal kill files look like this:
18941 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18942 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18946 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18947 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18949 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18950 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18953 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18958 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18959 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18960 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18963 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18964 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18965 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18968 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18973 @kindex M-k (Group)
18974 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18975 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18978 @kindex M-K (Group)
18979 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18980 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18983 Kill file variables:
18986 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18987 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18988 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18989 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18990 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18991 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18992 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18994 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18995 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18996 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18997 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19000 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19001 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19002 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19003 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19004 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19005 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19006 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19007 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19008 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19010 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19011 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19012 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19017 @node Converting Kill Files
19018 @section Converting Kill Files
19020 @cindex converting kill files
19022 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19023 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19024 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19027 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19028 You can fetch it from
19029 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19031 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19032 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19033 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19041 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
19042 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19043 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19044 news articles generated every day.
19046 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19047 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19048 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19049 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19050 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19051 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19052 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19053 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19056 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19057 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19060 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19061 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19062 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19063 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19067 @node Using GroupLens
19068 @subsection Using GroupLens
19070 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19072 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19073 better bit in town at the moment.
19075 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19079 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19080 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19081 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19082 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19084 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19085 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19086 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19087 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19089 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19090 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19091 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19095 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19096 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19097 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19098 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19099 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19100 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19103 @node Rating Articles
19104 @subsection Rating Articles
19106 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19107 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19108 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19109 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19112 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19117 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19118 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19119 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19122 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19123 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19124 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19125 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19126 threads in rec.humor.
19130 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19131 the score of the article you're reading.
19136 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19137 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19138 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19141 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19142 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19143 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19147 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19148 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19151 @node Displaying Predictions
19152 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19154 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19155 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19156 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19157 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19158 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19160 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19161 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19162 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19163 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19164 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19165 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19166 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19167 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19168 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19169 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19170 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19171 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19172 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19174 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19175 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19176 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19177 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19179 The following are valid values for that variable.
19182 @item prediction-spot
19183 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19186 @item confidence-interval
19187 A numeric confidence interval.
19189 @item prediction-bar
19190 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19192 @item confidence-bar
19193 Numerical confidence.
19195 @item confidence-spot
19196 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19198 @item prediction-num
19199 Plain-old numeric value.
19201 @item confidence-plus-minus
19202 Prediction +/- confidence.
19207 @node GroupLens Variables
19208 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19212 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19213 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19214 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19215 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19218 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19219 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19222 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19223 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19225 @item grouplens-score-offset
19226 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19227 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19230 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19231 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19232 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19237 @node Advanced Scoring
19238 @section Advanced Scoring
19240 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19241 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19242 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19243 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19244 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19246 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19250 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19251 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19252 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19256 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19257 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19259 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19260 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19261 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19262 non-@code{nil} value.
19264 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19265 operator, and various match operators.
19272 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19273 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19274 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19279 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19280 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19281 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19286 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19287 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19291 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19292 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19293 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19294 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19295 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19296 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19297 the ancestry you want to go.
19299 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19300 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19301 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19302 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19303 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19306 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19307 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19309 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19310 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19313 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19314 when he's talking about Gnus:
19318 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19319 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19325 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19329 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19336 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19337 really don't want to read what he's written:
19341 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19342 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19346 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19347 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19348 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19355 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19356 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19357 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19358 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19362 The possibilities are endless.
19365 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19366 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19368 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19369 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19370 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19371 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19372 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19373 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19374 @samp{subject}) first.
19376 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19377 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19388 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19389 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19395 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19402 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19403 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19408 @section Score Decays
19409 @cindex score decays
19412 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19413 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19414 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19415 use them in any sensible way.
19417 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19418 @findex gnus-decay-score
19419 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19420 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19421 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19422 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19423 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19424 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19425 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19426 definition of that function:
19429 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19431 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19432 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19435 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19437 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19439 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19442 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19443 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19444 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19445 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19449 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19452 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19455 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19459 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19460 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19461 the new score, which should be an integer.
19463 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19464 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19469 @include message.texi
19470 @chapter Emacs MIME
19471 @include emacs-mime.texi
19473 @include sieve.texi
19475 @c @include pgg.texi
19483 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19484 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19485 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19486 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19487 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19488 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19489 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19490 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19491 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19492 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19493 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19494 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19495 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19496 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19497 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19498 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19499 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19500 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19501 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19505 @node Process/Prefix
19506 @section Process/Prefix
19507 @cindex process/prefix convention
19509 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19510 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19512 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19513 command to be performed on.
19517 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19518 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19519 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19520 with the current one.
19522 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19523 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19524 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19526 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19527 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19530 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19531 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19533 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19536 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19537 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19538 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19539 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19541 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19542 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19543 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19544 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19545 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19546 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19547 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19548 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19550 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19551 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19552 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19553 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19554 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
19558 @section Interactive
19559 @cindex interaction
19563 @item gnus-novice-user
19564 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19565 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19566 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19567 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19568 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19571 @item gnus-expert-user
19572 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19573 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19574 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19575 matter how strange.
19577 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19578 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19579 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19580 is @code{t} by default.
19582 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19583 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19584 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19589 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19590 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19591 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19593 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19594 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19595 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19596 rule of 900 to the current article.
19598 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19599 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19600 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19601 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19602 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19603 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19604 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19606 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19607 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19608 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19609 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19610 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19611 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19612 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19613 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19614 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19616 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19617 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19618 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19620 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19624 @node Formatting Variables
19625 @section Formatting Variables
19626 @cindex formatting variables
19628 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19629 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19630 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19631 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19632 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19635 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19636 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19637 lots of percentages everywhere.
19640 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19641 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19642 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19643 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19644 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19645 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19646 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19647 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19650 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19651 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19652 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19653 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19654 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19655 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19656 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19657 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19659 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19660 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19662 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19663 @findex gnus-update-format
19664 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19665 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19666 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19667 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19671 @node Formatting Basics
19672 @subsection Formatting Basics
19674 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19675 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19676 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19678 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19679 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19680 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19681 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19682 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19685 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19686 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19687 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19688 less than 4 characters wide.
19690 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19691 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19694 @node Mode Line Formatting
19695 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19697 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19698 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19699 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19700 with the following two differences:
19705 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19708 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19709 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19710 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19711 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19712 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19713 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19714 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19719 @node Advanced Formatting
19720 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19722 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19723 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19724 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19725 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19727 These are the valid modifiers:
19732 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19736 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19741 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19744 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19749 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19752 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19755 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19758 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19764 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19769 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19770 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19771 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19772 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19773 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19774 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19775 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19777 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19778 last operation, padding.
19780 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19781 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19782 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19783 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19784 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19785 the look of your lines.
19786 @xref{Compilation}.
19789 @node User-Defined Specs
19790 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19792 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19793 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19794 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19795 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19796 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19797 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19798 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19799 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19800 should protect against that.
19802 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19803 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19805 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19806 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19807 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19808 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19812 @node Formatting Fonts
19813 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19815 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19816 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19817 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19818 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19821 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19822 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19823 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19824 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19825 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19826 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19828 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19829 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19830 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19831 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19832 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19833 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19834 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19835 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19836 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19837 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19839 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19842 ;; Create three face types.
19843 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19844 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19846 ;; We want the article count to be in
19847 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19848 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19849 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19851 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19852 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19854 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19855 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19856 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19859 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19860 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19862 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19863 mode-line variables.
19865 @node Positioning Point
19866 @subsection Positioning Point
19868 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19869 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19870 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19872 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19874 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19875 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19876 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19878 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19879 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19880 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19885 @subsection Tabulation
19887 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19888 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19889 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19890 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19892 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19893 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19895 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19896 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19897 This is the soft tabulator.
19899 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19900 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19901 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19904 @node Wide Characters
19905 @subsection Wide Characters
19907 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19908 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19909 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19911 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19912 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19913 these countries, that's not true.
19915 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19916 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19917 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19918 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19922 @node Window Layout
19923 @section Window Layout
19924 @cindex window layout
19926 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19928 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19929 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19930 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19931 @code{t} by default.
19933 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19934 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19936 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19937 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19938 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19941 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19942 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19943 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19947 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19948 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19949 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19950 possible names is listed below.
19952 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19953 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19956 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19960 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19961 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19962 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19963 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19964 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19965 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19966 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19967 size spec per split.
19969 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19970 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19971 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19972 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19973 present) gets focus.
19975 Here's a more complicated example:
19978 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19979 (summary 0.25 point)
19980 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19984 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19985 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19986 occupy, not a percentage.
19988 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19989 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19990 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19991 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19992 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19995 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19998 (article (horizontal 1.0
20003 (summary 0.25 point)
20008 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20009 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20011 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20012 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20013 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20014 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20015 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20017 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20018 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20019 lines from the splits.
20021 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20025 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20026 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20027 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20028 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20029 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20030 size = number | frame-params
20031 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20034 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20035 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20036 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20037 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20039 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20040 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20041 @cindex window height
20042 @cindex window width
20043 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20044 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20045 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20046 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20047 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20048 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20050 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20051 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20052 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20053 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20055 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20056 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20057 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20058 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20059 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20060 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20061 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20062 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20063 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20064 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20065 configuration list.
20068 (gnus-configure-frame
20072 (article 0.3 point))
20080 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20081 @code{frame} split:
20084 (gnus-configure-frame
20087 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20089 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20090 (user-position . t)
20091 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20096 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20097 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20098 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20099 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20100 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20101 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20102 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20103 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20105 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20106 be found in its default value.
20108 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20109 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20110 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20114 (message (horizontal 1.0
20115 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20117 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20122 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20123 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20124 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20129 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20130 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20131 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20132 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20133 (name . "Message"))
20134 (message 1.0 point))))
20137 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20138 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20139 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20140 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20141 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20144 (gnus-add-configuration
20145 '(article (vertical 1.0
20147 (summary .25 point)
20151 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20152 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20153 Gnus has been loaded.
20155 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20156 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20157 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20158 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20159 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20161 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20162 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20163 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20166 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20170 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20171 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20186 (gnus-add-configuration
20189 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20191 (summary 0.16 point)
20194 (gnus-add-configuration
20197 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20198 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20204 @node Faces and Fonts
20205 @section Faces and Fonts
20210 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20211 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20212 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20217 @section Compilation
20218 @cindex compilation
20219 @cindex byte-compilation
20221 @findex gnus-compile
20223 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20224 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20225 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20226 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20227 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20228 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20229 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20230 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20233 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20234 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20235 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20236 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20237 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20240 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20241 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20242 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20243 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20244 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20249 @section Mode Lines
20252 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20253 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20254 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20255 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20256 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20257 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20258 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20261 @cindex display-time
20263 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20264 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20265 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20266 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20267 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20268 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20269 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20270 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20273 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20275 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20276 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20278 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20279 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20280 (length display-time-string)))))
20283 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20284 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20285 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20286 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20287 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20290 @node Highlighting and Menus
20291 @section Highlighting and Menus
20293 @cindex highlighting
20296 @vindex gnus-visual
20297 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20298 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20299 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20302 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20303 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20306 @item group-highlight
20307 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20308 @item summary-highlight
20309 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20310 @item article-highlight
20311 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20313 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20315 Create menus in the group buffer.
20317 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20319 Create menus in the article buffer.
20321 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20323 Create menus in the server buffer.
20325 Create menus in the score buffers.
20327 Create menus in all buffers.
20330 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20331 buffers, you could say something like:
20334 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20337 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20340 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20343 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20344 in all Gnus buffers.
20346 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20349 @item gnus-mouse-face
20350 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20351 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20352 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20356 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20360 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20361 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20362 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20364 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20365 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20366 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20368 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20369 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20370 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20372 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20373 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20374 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20376 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20377 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20378 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20380 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20381 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20382 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20393 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20394 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20395 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20396 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20397 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20401 @vindex gnus-carpal
20402 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20403 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20404 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20409 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20410 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20411 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20413 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20414 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20415 Face used on buttons.
20417 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20418 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20419 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20421 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20422 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20423 Buttons in the group buffer.
20425 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20426 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20427 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20429 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20430 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20431 Buttons in the server buffer.
20433 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20434 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20435 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20438 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20439 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20440 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20448 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20449 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20450 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20451 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20452 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20454 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20455 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20456 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20458 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20459 been idle for thirty minutes:
20462 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20465 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20469 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20472 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20473 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20474 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20476 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20477 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20478 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20479 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20481 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20482 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20483 @var{idle} minutes.
20485 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20486 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20489 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20490 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20491 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20493 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20494 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20495 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20496 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20498 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20499 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20501 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20503 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20506 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20507 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20508 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20509 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20510 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20511 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20512 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20513 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20514 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20515 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20516 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20518 @findex gnus-demon-init
20519 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20520 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20521 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20522 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20523 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20525 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20526 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20527 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20536 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20537 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20539 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20540 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20541 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20542 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20545 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20546 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20547 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20548 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20550 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20551 this will make spam disappear.
20553 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20556 @item gnus-use-nocem
20557 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20558 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20561 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20562 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20563 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20564 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20565 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20567 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20568 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20569 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20570 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20571 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20572 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20574 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20575 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20577 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20578 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20579 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20580 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20581 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20582 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20583 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20584 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20585 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20586 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20588 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20589 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20592 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20595 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20596 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20599 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20602 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20605 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20606 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20608 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20609 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20610 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20611 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20613 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20614 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20617 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20619 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20627 This might be dangerous, though.
20629 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20630 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20631 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20632 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20634 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20635 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20636 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20637 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20638 might then see old spam.
20640 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20641 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20642 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20643 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20644 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20647 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20648 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20649 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20650 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20654 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20655 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20656 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20657 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20664 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20665 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20666 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20668 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20669 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20670 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20671 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20672 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20673 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20674 @code{undo} function.
20676 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20677 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20678 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20679 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20680 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20681 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20682 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20683 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20684 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20685 never be totally undoable.
20687 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20688 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20690 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20691 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20692 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20693 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20697 @node Predicate Specifiers
20698 @section Predicate Specifiers
20699 @cindex predicate specifiers
20701 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20702 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20703 to type all that much.
20705 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20710 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20711 gnus-article-unread-p)
20714 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20715 functions all take one parameter.
20717 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20718 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20719 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20720 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20725 @section Moderation
20728 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20729 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20730 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20733 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20737 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20740 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20742 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20747 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20748 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20749 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20752 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20753 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20756 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20757 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20761 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20764 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20765 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20769 @node Image Enhancements
20770 @section Image Enhancements
20772 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20773 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20776 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20777 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20778 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20779 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20792 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20793 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20794 over your shoulder as you read news.
20796 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20805 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20806 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20807 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20808 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20809 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20810 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20811 @code{GIF} formats.
20814 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20815 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
20816 point your Web browser at
20817 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
20819 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20820 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20822 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
20823 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
20826 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
20830 @item gnus-picon-databases
20831 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20832 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
20833 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20834 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
20835 "/usr/local/faces")}.
20837 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
20838 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
20839 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20840 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20842 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
20843 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
20844 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
20845 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
20847 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
20848 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
20849 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20850 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20851 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20853 @item gnus-picon-file-types
20854 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
20855 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20856 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
20861 @subsection Smileys
20866 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20871 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20872 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20874 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20875 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20878 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20881 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
20882 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20883 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20884 text and maps that to file names.
20886 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
20887 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
20888 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
20889 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
20890 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
20893 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20898 @item smiley-data-directory
20899 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20900 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20902 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
20903 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
20904 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
20913 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20914 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20915 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20919 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20920 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20921 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20922 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20930 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20931 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20932 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20933 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20935 The variable that controls this is the
20936 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20937 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20938 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20939 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20940 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20942 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20943 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20944 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20945 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20948 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20949 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20950 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20951 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20952 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20953 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20954 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20955 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20957 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20960 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20961 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20963 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20964 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
20965 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
20966 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
20967 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20968 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20969 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20970 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
20971 header data as a string.
20973 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
20974 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
20975 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
20976 randomly generated data.
20978 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
20979 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
20980 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20981 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20982 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20984 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
20985 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20988 (setq message-required-news-headers
20989 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20990 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20993 Using the last function would be something like this:
20996 (setq message-required-news-headers
20997 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20998 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20999 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21000 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21005 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21008 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21009 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21010 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21011 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21012 unusual directory structure.
21014 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21015 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21016 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21017 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21019 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21020 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21021 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21022 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21023 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21024 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21026 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21027 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21028 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21033 @subsubsection Toolbar
21037 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21038 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21039 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21040 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21041 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21043 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21044 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21045 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21047 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21048 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21049 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21051 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21052 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21053 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21064 @node Fuzzy Matching
21065 @section Fuzzy Matching
21066 @cindex fuzzy matching
21068 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21069 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21071 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21072 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21073 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21075 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21076 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21077 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21078 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21079 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21082 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21083 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21087 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21089 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21090 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21091 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21092 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21093 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21094 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21095 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21096 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21099 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21100 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21101 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21102 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21103 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21104 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21106 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21109 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21110 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21111 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21112 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21113 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21114 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21117 @node The problem of spam
21118 @subsection The problem of spam
21120 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21121 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21123 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21125 First, some background on spam.
21127 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21128 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21129 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21130 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21131 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21132 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21133 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21134 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21136 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21137 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21138 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21139 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21140 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21141 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21142 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21143 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21144 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21147 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21148 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21149 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21150 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21151 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21152 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21153 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21154 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21155 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21156 mail can be useful.
21158 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21159 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21160 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21161 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21162 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21163 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21164 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21165 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21166 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21168 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21169 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21170 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21171 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21172 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21173 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21174 because of the incident.
21176 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21177 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21178 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21179 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21180 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21181 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21182 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21183 to store the database of spam analyses.
21185 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21186 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21190 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21192 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21193 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21195 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21196 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21197 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21198 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21199 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21200 part of the mail address.)
21203 (setq message-default-news-headers
21204 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21207 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21208 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21213 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21214 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21215 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21221 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21222 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21223 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21224 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21226 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21227 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21228 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21229 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21230 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21231 your fancy split rule in this way:
21236 (to "larsi" "misc")
21240 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21241 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21242 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21243 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21244 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21246 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21247 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21248 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21249 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21250 cosmic balance somewhat.
21252 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21253 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21254 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21255 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21260 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21261 @cindex SpamAssassin
21262 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21265 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21266 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21267 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21268 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21269 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21270 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21271 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21273 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21274 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21275 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21276 Specifiers}) follows.
21280 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21283 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21286 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21287 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21288 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21291 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21295 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21298 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21299 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21303 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21304 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21305 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21306 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21309 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21311 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21313 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21314 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21316 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21318 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21319 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21323 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21324 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21325 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21328 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21329 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21331 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21332 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21333 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21337 @subsection Hashcash
21340 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21341 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21342 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21343 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21344 in smaller communities.
21346 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21347 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21348 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21349 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21350 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21351 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21352 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21353 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21354 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21355 one of them separately.
21358 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21359 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21360 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21361 header. For more details, and for the external application
21362 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21363 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21364 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21366 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21370 (require 'hashcash)
21371 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21374 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21375 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21376 development contrib directory.
21378 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21382 @item hashcash-default-payment
21383 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21384 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21385 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21386 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21388 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21389 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21390 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21391 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21392 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21393 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21394 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21395 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21399 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21403 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21404 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21405 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21406 a useful contribution, however.
21408 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21409 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21410 @cindex spam filtering
21413 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21414 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21415 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21416 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21419 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21420 the following keyboard commands:
21430 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21431 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21433 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
21434 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21435 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21436 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21442 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21443 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21445 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21451 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21452 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21455 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21456 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21457 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21458 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21459 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21460 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21461 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21462 will be detected later.
21464 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21465 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21466 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21467 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21468 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21469 by customizing the corresponding variable
21470 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21471 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21472 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21473 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21474 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21475 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21476 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21479 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21480 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21481 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
21482 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
21483 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21484 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21485 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21486 will study them as spam samples.
21488 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21489 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21490 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21491 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21492 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21493 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21494 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21495 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21497 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21498 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21499 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21500 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21503 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21504 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21505 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21508 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21509 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21510 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21511 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21512 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21513 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
21516 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21517 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21518 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21519 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21520 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21521 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21522 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21523 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21524 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21525 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21526 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21528 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21529 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21531 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21532 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21533 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21534 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21535 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21536 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21537 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21538 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21539 the spam articles are only expired.
21541 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21542 must add the following to your fancy split list
21543 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21549 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21550 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21551 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21553 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21554 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21555 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21556 but you can customize it.
21558 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21560 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21561 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21562 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21563 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21564 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21565 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21566 because it will slow IMAP down.
21568 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21570 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21571 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21572 longer spam or ham.}
21574 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21575 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21578 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21579 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21582 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21583 * BBDB Whitelists::
21585 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
21587 * ifile spam filtering::
21588 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21589 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21592 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21593 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21594 @cindex spam filtering
21595 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21596 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21599 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21601 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
21602 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
21603 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
21604 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
21609 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21611 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
21612 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
21613 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
21614 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
21615 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
21619 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
21621 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
21622 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
21623 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
21627 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21629 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21630 customizing the group parameters or the
21631 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21632 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21633 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21637 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21639 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21640 customizing the group parameters or the
21641 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21642 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21643 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21644 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21645 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21649 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21650 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21651 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21652 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21653 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21655 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21656 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
21657 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
21658 Emacs regular expression syntax.
21660 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21661 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21662 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21663 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21664 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21665 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21667 @node BBDB Whitelists
21668 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21669 @cindex spam filtering
21670 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21671 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21674 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21676 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21677 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
21678 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
21679 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
21680 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
21681 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
21682 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
21686 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
21688 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
21689 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
21690 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
21691 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
21692 classified as spammers.
21696 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21698 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21699 customizing the group parameters or the
21700 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21701 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21702 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21703 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21704 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21709 @subsubsection Blackholes
21710 @cindex spam filtering
21711 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21714 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21716 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21717 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21718 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21719 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21720 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21721 contains outdated servers.
21723 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21724 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21725 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21726 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21727 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21728 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21732 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21734 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21738 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
21740 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
21741 blackhole server list. When set to nil, it has no effect.
21745 @defvar spam-use-dig
21747 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21748 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
21752 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21753 ham processor for blackholes.
21755 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
21756 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
21757 @cindex spam filtering
21758 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
21761 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
21763 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
21764 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
21765 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
21766 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
21767 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
21768 message is spam or ham, respectively.
21772 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
21774 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21775 the message, positively identify it as spam.
21779 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
21781 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21782 the message, positively identify it as ham.
21786 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
21787 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
21790 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21791 @cindex spam filtering
21792 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21795 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21797 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21800 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
21801 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21802 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21803 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
21804 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
21805 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
21807 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
21808 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
21811 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21812 processing will be turned off.
21814 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
21818 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
21820 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21821 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
21822 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
21823 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
21824 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
21825 installation documents for details.
21827 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
21831 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21832 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21833 customizing the group parameters or the
21834 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21835 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21836 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
21839 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
21840 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21841 customizing the group parameters or the
21842 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21843 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21844 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
21845 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21846 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21849 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
21851 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
21852 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
21853 database directory.
21857 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
21858 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21859 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
21860 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
21861 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
21862 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
21864 @node ifile spam filtering
21865 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21866 @cindex spam filtering
21867 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21870 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21872 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21873 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21877 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21879 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21880 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21881 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21885 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21887 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21888 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21889 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21892 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21894 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21895 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21899 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21900 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21901 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21902 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21905 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21906 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21907 @cindex spam filtering
21908 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21912 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
21914 @defvar spam-use-stat
21916 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21917 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21921 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21922 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21923 customizing the group parameters or the
21924 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21925 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21926 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21929 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21930 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21931 customizing the group parameters or the
21932 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21933 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21934 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21935 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21936 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21939 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21940 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21941 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21942 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21945 @node Extending the spam elisp package
21946 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
21947 @cindex spam filtering
21948 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
21949 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
21951 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21952 incoming mail, provide the following:
21960 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21961 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21966 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21968 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21973 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21974 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21975 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21978 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21985 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21986 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21989 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21990 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21991 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21993 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21994 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21995 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22003 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22004 (spam-generic-register-routine
22005 ;; the spam function
22007 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22008 (when (stringp from)
22009 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22010 ;; the ham function
22013 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22014 (spam-generic-register-routine
22015 ;; the spam function
22017 ;; the ham function
22019 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22020 (when (stringp from)
22021 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22024 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22025 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22026 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22027 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22028 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22029 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22034 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22035 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22036 @cindex Paul Graham
22037 @cindex Graham, Paul
22038 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22039 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22040 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22042 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22043 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22044 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22045 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22046 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22047 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22048 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22049 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22050 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22053 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22054 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22055 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22056 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22057 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22058 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22059 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22060 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22062 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22063 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22064 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22065 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22066 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22069 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22070 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22071 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22074 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22075 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22077 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22078 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22079 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22080 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22081 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22083 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22084 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22085 per mail. Use the following:
22087 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22088 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22089 is treated as one spam mail.
22092 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22093 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22094 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22097 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22098 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22099 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22100 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22101 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22102 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22104 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22105 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22106 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22107 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22108 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22111 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22112 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22113 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22114 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22117 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22118 reset the dictionary.
22120 @defun spam-stat-reset
22121 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22124 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22125 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22126 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22127 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22128 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22129 only non-spam mails.
22131 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22132 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22133 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22136 @defun spam-stat-save
22137 Save the dictionary.
22140 @defvar spam-stat-file
22141 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22142 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22145 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22146 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22148 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22149 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22152 (require 'spam-stat)
22156 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22159 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22160 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22161 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22162 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22164 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22165 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22166 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22167 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22170 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22171 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22175 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22176 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22179 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22180 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22181 expression are considered potential spam.
22184 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22185 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22186 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22190 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22191 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22192 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22193 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22194 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22197 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22198 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22199 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22203 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22204 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22205 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22206 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22207 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22211 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22212 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22213 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22214 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22219 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22220 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22222 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22224 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22225 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22226 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22229 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22230 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22231 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22234 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22235 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22236 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22237 already been processed as non-spam.
22240 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22241 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22242 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22243 been processed as spam.
22246 @defun spam-stat-save
22247 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22248 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22251 @defun spam-stat-load
22252 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22253 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22256 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22257 Return the spam score for a word.
22260 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22261 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22264 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22265 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22266 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22269 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22270 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22273 (require 'spam-stat)
22277 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22280 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22281 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22282 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22283 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22284 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22285 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22286 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22287 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22288 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22289 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22290 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22291 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22292 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22293 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22296 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22299 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22300 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22301 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22302 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22303 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22304 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22307 @node Various Various
22308 @section Various Various
22314 @item gnus-home-directory
22315 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22316 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22317 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22319 @item gnus-directory
22320 @vindex gnus-directory
22321 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22322 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22323 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22325 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22326 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22327 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22328 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22330 @item gnus-default-directory
22331 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22332 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22333 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22334 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22335 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22336 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22337 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22340 @vindex gnus-verbose
22341 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22342 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22343 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22344 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22345 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22347 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22348 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22349 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22350 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22352 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22353 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22354 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22355 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22356 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22357 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22358 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22359 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22360 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22361 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22363 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22364 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22365 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22366 read when doing the operation described above.
22368 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22369 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22371 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22372 @cindex characters in file names
22373 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22374 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22375 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22378 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22382 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22383 Windows (phooey) systems.
22385 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22386 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22387 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22388 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22389 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22391 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22392 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22393 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22394 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22395 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22397 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22398 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22399 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22401 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22402 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22404 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22405 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22406 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22407 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22410 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22418 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22419 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22421 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22423 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22429 Not because of victories @*
22432 but for the common sunshine,@*
22434 the largess of the spring.
22438 but for the day's work done@*
22439 as well as I was able;@*
22440 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22441 but at the common table.@*
22446 @chapter Appendices
22449 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22450 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22451 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22452 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22453 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22454 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22455 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22456 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22457 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22464 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22466 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22467 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22468 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22469 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22470 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22471 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22478 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22479 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22481 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22482 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22483 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22484 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22485 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22487 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22488 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22489 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22490 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22491 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22492 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22494 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22495 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22496 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22497 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22500 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22501 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22502 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22503 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22504 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22505 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22506 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22507 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22508 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22512 @node Gnus Versions
22513 @subsection Gnus Versions
22515 @cindex September Gnus
22517 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22518 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22522 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22523 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22524 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22526 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22527 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22529 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22530 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22532 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22533 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22535 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22536 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22539 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22541 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22542 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22543 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22544 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22545 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22546 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22549 @node Other Gnus Versions
22550 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22553 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22554 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22555 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22556 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22558 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22559 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22560 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22561 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22568 What's the point of Gnus?
22570 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22571 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22572 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22573 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22574 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22575 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22576 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22577 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22578 keep track of millions of people who post?
22580 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22581 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22582 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22583 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22584 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22585 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22586 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22587 every one of you to explore and invent.
22589 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22590 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22593 @node Compatibility
22594 @subsection Compatibility
22596 @cindex compatibility
22597 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22598 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22599 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22604 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22608 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22611 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22614 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22615 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22616 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22617 important variables have their values copied into their global
22618 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22619 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22621 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22622 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22623 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22624 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22625 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22629 @cindex highlighting
22630 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22631 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22632 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22633 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22634 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22635 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22638 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22639 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22640 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22641 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22643 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22644 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22645 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22646 to stop doing it the old way.
22648 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22650 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22652 @cindex reporting bugs
22654 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22655 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22656 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22658 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22659 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22660 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22661 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22666 @subsection Conformity
22668 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22669 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22677 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22681 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22683 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22684 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22685 We do have some breaches to this one.
22691 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22692 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22693 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22694 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22695 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22700 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22701 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22702 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22703 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22705 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22707 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22709 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22710 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22712 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22715 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22716 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22717 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22718 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22719 decoding (verification and decryption).
22721 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22722 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22723 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22724 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22726 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22727 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22729 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22730 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22731 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22732 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22733 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22734 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22735 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22739 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22740 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22745 @subsection Emacsen
22751 Gnus should work on :
22759 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
22763 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22764 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22765 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
22766 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
22767 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
22769 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22770 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22771 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22775 @node Gnus Development
22776 @subsection Gnus Development
22778 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22779 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22780 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22781 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22782 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22783 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22784 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22785 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22787 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22788 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22789 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22790 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22791 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22794 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22795 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22796 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22797 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22798 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22800 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22801 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22802 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22803 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22804 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22805 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22806 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22807 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22808 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22809 can't be assumed to do so.
22814 @subsection Contributors
22815 @cindex contributors
22817 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22818 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22819 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22820 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22821 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22822 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22823 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22824 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22825 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22826 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22828 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22834 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22837 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22838 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22839 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22840 functionality and stuff.
22843 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22844 well as numerous other things).
22847 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22850 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22853 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22856 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22859 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22860 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22863 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22866 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22867 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22870 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22873 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22876 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22879 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22882 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22883 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22886 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22889 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22892 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22895 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22899 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22902 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22905 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22908 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22909 well as autoconf support.
22913 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22914 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22916 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22925 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22929 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22939 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22954 Massimo Campostrini,
22959 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22960 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22964 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22967 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22973 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22978 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22982 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22990 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22992 Michelangelo Grigni,
22996 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22998 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
23000 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23007 François Felix Ingrand,
23008 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
23009 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23011 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23022 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23023 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23025 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23026 Thor Kristoffersen,
23029 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23047 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23048 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23055 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23060 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23064 John McClary Prevost,
23070 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23075 Christian von Roques,
23078 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23085 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23087 Randal L. Schwartz,
23101 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23106 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23122 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23127 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23128 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23129 (550kB and counting).
23131 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23134 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23135 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23139 @subsection New Features
23140 @cindex new features
23143 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23144 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23145 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23146 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23147 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23150 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23151 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23152 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23155 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23157 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23162 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23163 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23166 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23167 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23170 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23173 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23174 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23175 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23178 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23179 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23180 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23181 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23184 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23185 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23188 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23189 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23190 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23193 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23194 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23197 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23198 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23199 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23202 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23203 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23204 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23207 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23208 the @file{.emacs} file.
23211 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23212 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23215 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23216 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23219 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23220 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23223 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23224 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23227 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23228 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23231 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23234 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23235 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23238 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23239 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23242 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23243 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23246 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23249 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23250 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23253 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23257 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23261 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23262 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23265 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23271 @node September Gnus
23272 @subsubsection September Gnus
23276 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23280 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23285 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23286 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23290 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23291 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23295 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23299 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23300 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23303 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23307 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23310 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23313 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23316 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23320 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23321 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23324 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23328 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23332 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23336 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23340 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23343 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23344 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23347 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23351 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23352 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23355 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23358 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23359 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23360 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23363 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23367 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23370 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23374 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23375 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23378 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23379 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23382 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23383 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23386 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23387 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23388 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23391 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23392 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23395 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23398 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23401 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23404 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23407 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23408 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23411 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23415 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23418 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23423 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23426 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23430 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23433 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23437 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23440 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23443 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23444 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23447 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23448 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23452 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23453 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23456 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23460 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23461 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23464 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23467 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23471 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23475 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23476 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23479 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23483 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23484 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23487 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23488 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23491 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23495 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23498 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23501 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23507 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23509 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23513 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23520 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23523 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23524 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23527 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23528 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23532 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23533 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23536 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23539 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23540 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23543 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23547 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23548 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23552 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23553 Server Internals}).
23556 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23560 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23563 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23564 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23567 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23568 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23569 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23572 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23573 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23576 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23577 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23580 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23584 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23585 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23588 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23589 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23592 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23596 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23599 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23603 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23604 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23607 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23608 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23611 A new command for reading collections of documents
23612 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23613 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23616 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23620 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23621 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23624 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23625 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23626 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23629 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23630 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23634 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23638 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23642 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23647 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23651 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23655 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23656 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23659 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23665 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23667 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23672 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23673 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23674 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23677 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23678 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23679 group, which is created automatically.
23682 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23686 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23689 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23690 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23693 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23697 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23700 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23701 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23704 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23707 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23708 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23711 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23712 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23715 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23716 control over simplification.
23719 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23722 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23726 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23729 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23732 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23733 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23734 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23737 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23738 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23741 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23745 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23746 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23749 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23750 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23753 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23757 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23760 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23763 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23764 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23767 A new function for citing in Message has been
23768 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23771 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23774 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23778 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23779 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23782 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23783 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23786 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23789 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23793 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23794 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23796 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23801 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23802 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23804 If you used procmail like in
23807 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23808 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23809 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23810 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23813 this now has changed to
23817 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23821 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23822 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23825 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23826 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23829 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23830 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23833 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23834 called to position point.
23837 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23838 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23841 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23842 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23845 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23846 subtly different manner.
23849 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23850 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23851 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23854 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23862 @section The Manual
23866 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23867 either @code{texi2dvi}
23869 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23870 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23872 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23874 The following conventions have been used:
23879 This is a @samp{string}
23882 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23885 This is a @file{file}
23888 This is a @code{symbol}
23892 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23896 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23899 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23902 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23905 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23906 ever get them confused.
23910 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23911 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23912 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23913 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23914 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23915 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23916 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23922 @node On Writing Manuals
23923 @section On Writing Manuals
23925 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23926 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23927 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23928 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23929 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23930 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23933 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23934 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23935 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23938 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23939 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23944 @section Terminology
23946 @cindex terminology
23951 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23952 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23953 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23954 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23955 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23959 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23960 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23961 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23962 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23966 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23970 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23975 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23976 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23977 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23978 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23979 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23980 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23981 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23982 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23983 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23985 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23986 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23987 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23988 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23989 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23992 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23993 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23994 access the articles.
23996 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23997 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23998 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24003 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24004 default, way of getting news.
24008 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24009 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24014 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24015 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24019 A message that has been posted as news.
24022 @cindex mail message
24023 A message that has been mailed.
24027 A mail message or news article
24031 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24036 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24041 A line from the head of an article.
24045 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24046 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
24050 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24051 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24052 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24053 normal @sc{head} format.
24057 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24058 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24059 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24060 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24061 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24062 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24064 @item killed groups
24065 @cindex killed groups
24066 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24067 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24069 @item zombie groups
24070 @cindex zombie groups
24071 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24074 @cindex active file
24075 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24076 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24077 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24080 @cindex bogus groups
24081 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24082 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24083 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24086 @cindex activating groups
24087 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24088 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24089 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24093 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24095 @item select method
24096 @cindex select method
24097 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24100 @item virtual server
24101 @cindex virtual server
24102 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24103 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24104 whole is a virtual server.
24108 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24109 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24112 @item ephemeral groups
24113 @cindex ephemeral groups
24114 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24115 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24116 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24119 @cindex solid groups
24120 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24121 group buffer are solid groups.
24123 @item sparse articles
24124 @cindex sparse articles
24125 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24126 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24130 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24131 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24135 @cindex thread root
24136 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24137 articles in the thread.
24141 An article that has responses.
24145 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24149 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24150 specified by RFC 1153.
24156 @node Customization
24157 @section Customization
24158 @cindex general customization
24160 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24161 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24162 for some quite common situations.
24165 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24166 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24167 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24168 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24172 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24173 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24175 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24176 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24177 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24181 @item gnus-read-active-file
24182 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24183 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24184 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24185 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24186 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24188 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24189 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24190 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24191 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24195 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24196 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24198 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24199 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24200 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24204 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24205 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24206 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24207 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24208 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24210 @item gnus-visible-headers
24211 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24212 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24213 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24214 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24216 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24218 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24219 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24220 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24223 @item gnus-use-full-window
24224 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24225 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24226 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24227 want to read them anyway.
24229 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24230 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24234 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24235 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24236 lines, which might save some time.
24240 @node Little Disk Space
24241 @subsection Little Disk Space
24244 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24245 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24249 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24250 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24251 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24252 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24255 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24256 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24257 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24258 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24261 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24262 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24263 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24264 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24265 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24271 @subsection Slow Machine
24272 @cindex slow machine
24274 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24275 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24277 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24278 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24280 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24281 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24282 summary buffer faster.
24286 @node Troubleshooting
24287 @section Troubleshooting
24288 @cindex troubleshooting
24290 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24298 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24301 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24302 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24306 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24307 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24308 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24309 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24310 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24313 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24317 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24318 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24319 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24320 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24321 something like that.
24324 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24327 @cindex reporting bugs
24329 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24331 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24332 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24333 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24334 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24336 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24337 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24338 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24339 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24342 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24343 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24344 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24345 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24346 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24347 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24349 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24350 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24351 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24355 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24356 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24359 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24360 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24361 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24362 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24363 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24364 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24365 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24366 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24367 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24368 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24369 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24370 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24371 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24372 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24377 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24378 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24379 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24380 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24381 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24382 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24383 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24384 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24385 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24386 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24387 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24388 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24389 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24390 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24391 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24392 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24393 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24394 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24396 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24397 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24399 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24400 @cindex ding mailing list
24401 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24402 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24406 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24407 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24409 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24410 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24411 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24412 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24415 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24416 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24417 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24418 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24419 and general methods of operation.
24422 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24423 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24424 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24425 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24426 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24427 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24428 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24429 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24430 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24434 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24435 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24436 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24437 @cindex utility functions
24439 @cindex internal variables
24441 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24442 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24443 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24447 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24448 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24449 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24451 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24452 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24453 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24455 @item gnus-group-real-name
24456 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24457 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24460 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24461 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24462 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24463 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24465 @item gnus-get-info
24466 @findex gnus-get-info
24467 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24469 @item gnus-group-unread
24470 @findex gnus-group-unread
24471 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24475 @findex gnus-active
24476 The active entry for @var{group}.
24478 @item gnus-set-active
24479 @findex gnus-set-active
24480 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24482 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24483 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24484 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24487 @item gnus-continuum-version
24488 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24489 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24490 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24493 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24494 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24495 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24497 @item gnus-news-group-p
24498 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24499 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24501 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24502 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24503 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24505 @item gnus-server-to-method
24506 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24507 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24509 @item gnus-server-equal
24510 @findex gnus-server-equal
24511 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24513 @item gnus-group-native-p
24514 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24515 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24517 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24518 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24519 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24521 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24522 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24523 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24525 @item group-group-find-parameter
24526 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24527 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24528 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24530 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24531 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24532 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24534 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24535 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24536 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24538 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24539 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24540 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24541 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24544 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24548 @item gnus-read-method
24549 @findex gnus-read-method
24550 Prompts the user for a select method.
24555 @node Back End Interface
24556 @subsection Back End Interface
24558 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24559 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24560 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24561 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24562 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24563 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24565 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24566 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24567 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24568 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24569 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24570 been opened, the function should fail.
24572 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24573 name. Take this example:
24577 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24578 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24581 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24582 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24584 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24585 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24586 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24588 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24589 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24590 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24592 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24593 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24594 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24595 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24596 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24597 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24600 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24601 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24602 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24603 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24606 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24607 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24608 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24609 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24610 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24611 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24612 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24613 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24614 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24615 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24617 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24618 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24619 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24620 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24621 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24622 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24623 of numbers as long as possible.
24625 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24626 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24627 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24629 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24632 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24635 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24636 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24637 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24638 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24639 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24640 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24644 @node Required Back End Functions
24645 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24649 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24651 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24652 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24653 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24654 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24656 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24657 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24658 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24659 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24661 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24662 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24663 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24664 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24665 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24666 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24667 number, do maximum fetches.
24669 Here's an example HEAD:
24672 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24673 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24674 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24675 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24676 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24677 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24678 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24680 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24681 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24682 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24686 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24687 these in the data buffer.
24689 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24693 head = error / valid-head
24694 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24695 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24696 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24697 header = <text> eol
24700 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24701 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24705 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24706 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24707 field = <text except TAB>
24710 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24714 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24716 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24717 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24719 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24720 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24721 server. In fact, it should do so.
24723 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24724 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24727 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24729 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24730 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24733 There should be no data returned.
24736 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24738 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24739 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24740 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24741 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24743 There should be no data returned.
24746 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24748 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24749 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24750 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24751 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24753 There should be no data returned.
24756 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24758 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24760 There should be no data returned.
24763 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24765 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24766 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24767 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24768 it would be nice if that were possible.
24770 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24771 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24772 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24773 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24774 into its article buffer.
24776 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24777 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24778 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24779 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24780 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24781 on successful article retrieval.
24784 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24786 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24787 making @var{group} the current group.
24789 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24792 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24795 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24798 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24799 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24800 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24801 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24802 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24803 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24804 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24805 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24806 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24810 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24811 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24812 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24816 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24818 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24819 a no-op on most back ends.
24821 There should be no data returned.
24824 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24826 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24829 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24832 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24833 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24836 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24837 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24838 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24839 and the highest as 0.
24842 active-file = *active-line
24843 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24845 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24848 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24849 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24850 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24853 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24855 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24856 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24857 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24858 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24859 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24860 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24862 There should be no result data from this function.
24867 @node Optional Back End Functions
24868 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24872 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24874 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24875 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24876 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24878 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24879 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24880 former is in the same format as the data from
24881 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24882 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24885 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24889 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24891 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24892 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24893 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24894 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24895 should return a non-nil value.
24897 There should be no result data from this function.
24900 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24902 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24903 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24904 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24905 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24906 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24907 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24908 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24909 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24911 There should be no result data from this function.
24914 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24916 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24917 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24918 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24919 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24920 propagate the mark information to the server.
24922 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24925 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24928 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
24929 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
24930 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
24931 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
24932 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24933 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24934 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24935 possible, not limit itself to these.
24937 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24938 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24939 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24940 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24942 An example action list:
24945 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24946 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24947 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24950 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24951 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24953 There should be no result data from this function.
24955 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24957 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24958 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24959 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24960 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24961 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24963 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24964 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24965 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24968 There should be no result data from this function.
24971 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24973 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24974 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24975 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24976 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24977 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24978 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24979 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24981 There should be no result data from this function.
24984 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24986 The result data from this function should be a description of
24990 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24992 description = <text>
24995 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24997 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24998 groups available on the server.
25001 description-buffer = *description-line
25005 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25007 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25008 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25009 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25010 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25011 in the active buffer format.
25013 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25014 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25015 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25016 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25017 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25018 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25019 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25022 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25024 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25026 There should be no return data.
25029 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25031 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25032 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25033 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25034 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25035 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25038 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25041 There should be no result data returned.
25044 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
25047 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25048 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25050 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25051 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25052 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25053 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25054 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25055 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25057 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25058 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25061 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25062 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25064 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25065 article for that group.
25067 There should be no data returned.
25070 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25072 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25073 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25074 this function in short order.
25076 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25077 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25079 There should be no data returned.
25082 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25084 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25085 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25087 There should be no data returned.
25090 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25092 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25093 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25094 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25096 There should be no data returned.
25099 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25101 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25102 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25104 There should be no data returned.
25109 @node Error Messaging
25110 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25112 @findex nnheader-report
25113 @findex nnheader-get-report
25114 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25115 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25116 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25117 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25118 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25119 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25122 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25124 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25127 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25128 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25129 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25130 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25132 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25133 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25134 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25137 @node Writing New Back Ends
25138 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25140 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25141 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25142 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25143 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25144 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25147 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25148 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25149 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25151 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25152 package called @code{nnoo}.
25154 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25155 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25161 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25162 parameters. For instance:
25165 (nnoo-declare nndir
25169 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25170 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25173 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25174 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25175 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25177 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25178 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25179 a function in those back ends.
25182 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25183 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25184 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25187 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25188 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25189 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25191 @item nnoo-define-basics
25192 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25196 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25200 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25201 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25202 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25204 @item nnoo-map-functions
25205 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25206 functions from the parent back ends.
25209 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25210 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25211 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25214 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25215 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25216 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25217 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25220 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25221 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25222 haven't already been defined.
25228 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25232 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25233 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25234 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25239 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25242 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25243 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25247 (require 'nnheader)
25251 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25253 (nnoo-declare nndir
25256 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25257 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25258 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25260 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25261 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25264 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25266 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25267 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25268 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25270 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25271 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25273 ;;; Interface functions.
25275 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25277 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25278 (setq nndir-directory
25279 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25281 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25282 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25283 (push `(nndir-current-group
25284 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25285 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25287 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25288 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25290 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25292 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25293 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25294 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25295 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25296 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25300 nnmh-status-message
25302 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25308 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25309 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25311 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25312 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25313 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25314 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25315 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25317 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25318 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25323 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25326 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25328 The abilities can be:
25332 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25334 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25336 This back end supports both mail and news.
25338 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25341 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25342 articles and groups.
25344 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25345 true for almost all back ends.
25346 @item prompt-address
25347 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25348 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25349 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25353 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25354 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25356 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25357 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25358 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25359 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25362 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25363 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25364 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25367 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25368 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25371 This function takes four parameters.
25375 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25378 @item exit-function
25379 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25381 @item temp-directory
25382 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25385 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25386 performed for one group only.
25389 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25390 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25391 find the article number assigned to this article.
25393 The function also uses the following variables:
25394 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25395 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25396 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25397 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25401 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25402 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25406 @node Score File Syntax
25407 @subsection Score File Syntax
25409 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25410 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25411 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25413 Here's a typical score file:
25417 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25424 BNF definition of a score file:
25427 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25428 element = rule / atom
25429 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25430 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25431 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25432 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25434 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25435 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25436 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25437 date-header = "date"
25438 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25439 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25440 score = "nil" / <integer>
25441 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25442 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25443 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25444 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25445 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25446 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25447 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25448 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25449 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25450 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25451 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25452 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25453 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25454 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25455 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25456 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25457 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25458 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25459 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25460 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25461 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25462 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25463 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25464 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25465 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25466 eval = "eval" space <form>
25467 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25470 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25473 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25474 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25475 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25476 one looong line, then that's ok.
25478 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25479 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25483 @subsection Headers
25485 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25486 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25487 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25488 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25490 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25491 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25492 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25493 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25494 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25495 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25496 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25498 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25499 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25500 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25501 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25502 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25504 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25505 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25511 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25512 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25514 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25515 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25516 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25517 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25519 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25523 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25526 is transformed into
25529 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25532 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25533 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25536 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25539 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25540 is slightly tricky:
25543 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25549 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25552 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25558 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25565 and is equal to the previous range.
25567 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25568 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25569 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25573 range = simple-range / normal-range
25574 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25575 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25576 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25577 number *[ " " contents ]
25580 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25581 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25582 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25583 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25584 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25589 @subsection Group Info
25591 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25592 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25593 describes the group.
25595 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25596 second is a more complex one:
25599 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25601 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25602 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25604 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25607 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25608 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25609 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25610 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25611 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25612 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25613 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25614 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25615 this section is about.
25617 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25618 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25619 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25621 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25624 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25625 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25626 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25627 group = quote <string> quote
25628 ralevel = rank / level
25629 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25630 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25631 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25633 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25634 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25635 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25636 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25639 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25640 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25643 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25644 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25647 @item gnus-info-group
25648 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25649 @findex gnus-info-group
25650 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25651 Get/set the group name.
25653 @item gnus-info-rank
25654 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25655 @findex gnus-info-rank
25656 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25657 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25659 @item gnus-info-level
25660 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25661 @findex gnus-info-level
25662 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25663 Get/set the group level.
25665 @item gnus-info-score
25666 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25667 @findex gnus-info-score
25668 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25669 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25671 @item gnus-info-read
25672 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25673 @findex gnus-info-read
25674 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25675 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25677 @item gnus-info-marks
25678 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25679 @findex gnus-info-marks
25680 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25681 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25683 @item gnus-info-method
25684 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25685 @findex gnus-info-method
25686 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25687 Get/set the group select method.
25689 @item gnus-info-params
25690 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25691 @findex gnus-info-params
25692 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25693 Get/set the group parameters.
25696 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25697 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25699 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25700 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25701 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25702 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25705 @node Extended Interactive
25706 @subsection Extended Interactive
25707 @cindex interactive
25708 @findex gnus-interactive
25710 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25711 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25712 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25715 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25716 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25721 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25722 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25723 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25724 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25725 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25726 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25727 @code{interactive}.
25729 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25734 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25735 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25739 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25740 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25741 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25744 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25748 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25752 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25758 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25759 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25763 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25764 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25765 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25767 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25768 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25769 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25770 Gnus, that's very useful.
25772 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25773 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25774 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25775 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25776 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25777 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25778 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25779 following function:
25782 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25786 (,function ,@@args))
25790 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25791 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25792 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25795 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25796 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25797 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25799 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25800 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25801 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25804 @node Various File Formats
25805 @subsection Various File Formats
25808 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25809 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25813 @node Active File Format
25814 @subsubsection Active File Format
25816 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25817 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25820 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25823 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25824 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25825 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25826 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25827 no.general 1000 900 y
25830 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25833 active = *group-line
25834 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25835 group = <non-white-space string>
25837 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25838 low-number = <positive integer>
25839 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25842 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25843 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25846 @node Newsgroups File Format
25847 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25849 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25850 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25851 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25854 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25855 Here's the definition:
25859 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25860 group = <non-white-space string>
25862 description = <string>
25867 @node Emacs for Heathens
25868 @section Emacs for Heathens
25870 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25871 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25872 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25873 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25874 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25875 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25876 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25880 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25881 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25886 @subsection Keystrokes
25890 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25893 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25896 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25897 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25898 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25899 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25900 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25901 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25903 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25904 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25905 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25906 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25907 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25908 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25909 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25911 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25912 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25913 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25914 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25915 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25916 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25917 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25919 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25920 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25921 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25922 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25923 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25929 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25931 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25932 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25933 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25934 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25936 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25937 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25938 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25939 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25940 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25941 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25942 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25945 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25946 write the following:
25949 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25952 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25953 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25954 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25957 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
25958 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25959 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25960 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25961 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25963 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25964 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25965 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25969 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25973 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25976 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25977 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25980 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25983 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25984 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25987 @include gnus-faq.texi
26007 @c Local Variables:
26009 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26011 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26012 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26013 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26014 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26015 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref