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@dots{} 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 Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
619 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
620 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
621 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
622 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
624 Alternative Approaches
626 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
627 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
629 Various Summary Stuff
631 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
632 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
633 * Summary Generation Commands::
634 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
638 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
639 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
640 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
641 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
642 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
646 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
647 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
648 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
649 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
650 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
651 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
652 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
653 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
657 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
658 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
659 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
660 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
661 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
662 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
663 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
664 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
668 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
669 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
670 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
671 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
672 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
673 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
674 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
678 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
679 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
683 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
684 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
685 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
689 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
690 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
691 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
692 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
693 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
694 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
695 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
696 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
697 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
698 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
699 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
700 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
701 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
705 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
706 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
707 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
709 Choosing a Mail Back End
711 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
712 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
713 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
714 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
715 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
716 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
717 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
722 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
723 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
724 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
725 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
726 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
727 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
731 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
732 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
733 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
734 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
735 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
739 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
740 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
741 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
742 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
743 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
747 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
751 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
752 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
753 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
757 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
758 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
762 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
763 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
764 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
765 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
766 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
767 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
768 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
769 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
770 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
771 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
772 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
773 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
777 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
778 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
779 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
783 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
784 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
785 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
789 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
790 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
791 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
792 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
793 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
794 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
795 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
796 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
797 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
798 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
799 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
800 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
801 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
802 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
803 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
804 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
805 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
809 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
810 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
811 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
812 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
816 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
817 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
818 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
822 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
823 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
824 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
825 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
826 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
827 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
828 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
829 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
830 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
831 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
832 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
833 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
834 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
835 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
836 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
837 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
838 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
839 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
840 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
844 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
845 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
846 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
847 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
848 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
849 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
850 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
851 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
855 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
856 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
857 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
858 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
862 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
863 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
864 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
865 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
866 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
867 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
871 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
872 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
873 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
874 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
875 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
876 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
877 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
878 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
879 * Frequently Asked Questions::
883 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
884 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
885 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
886 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
887 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
888 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
889 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
890 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
891 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
895 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
896 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
897 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
898 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
899 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
903 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
904 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
905 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
906 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
910 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
911 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
912 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
913 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
914 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
915 * Group Info:: The group info format.
916 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
917 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
918 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
922 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
923 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
924 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
925 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
926 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
927 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
931 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
932 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
936 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
937 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
943 @chapter Starting gnus
948 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
949 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
952 @findex gnus-other-frame
953 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
954 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
955 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
957 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
958 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
959 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
961 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
962 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
965 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
966 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
967 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
968 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
969 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
970 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
971 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
972 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
973 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
974 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
975 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
979 @node Finding the News
980 @section Finding the News
983 @vindex gnus-select-method
985 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
986 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
987 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
988 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
991 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
992 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
995 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
998 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1001 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1004 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1005 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1006 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1008 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1010 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1011 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1012 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1013 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1014 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1015 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1017 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1018 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1019 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1020 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1022 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1023 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1024 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1025 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1026 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1027 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1028 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1029 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1030 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1033 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1035 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1036 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1037 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1038 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1039 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1040 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1042 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1044 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1045 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1046 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1047 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1048 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1049 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1052 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1053 you would typically set this variable to
1056 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1060 @node The First Time
1061 @section The First Time
1062 @cindex first time usage
1064 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1065 be subscribed by default.
1067 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1068 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1069 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1070 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1073 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1074 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1075 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1077 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1078 help you with most common problems.
1080 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1081 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1085 @node The Server is Down
1086 @section The Server is Down
1087 @cindex server errors
1089 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1090 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1091 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1093 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1094 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1095 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1096 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1097 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1098 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1099 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1101 @findex gnus-no-server
1102 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1104 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1105 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1106 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1107 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1108 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1109 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1110 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1114 @section Slave Gnusae
1117 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1118 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1119 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1120 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1122 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1123 @file{.newsrc} file.
1125 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1126 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1127 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1128 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1129 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1130 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1131 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1134 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1135 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1136 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1137 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1138 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1139 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1140 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1141 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1143 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1144 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1146 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1147 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1148 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1149 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1150 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1152 @node Fetching a Group
1153 @section Fetching a Group
1154 @cindex fetching a group
1156 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1157 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1158 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1159 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1160 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1161 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1167 @cindex subscription
1169 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1170 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1171 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1172 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1173 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1174 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1175 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1176 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1177 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1180 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1181 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1182 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1186 @node Checking New Groups
1187 @subsection Checking New Groups
1189 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1190 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1191 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1192 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1193 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1194 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1195 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1196 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1197 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1198 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1200 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1201 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1202 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1203 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1204 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1205 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1206 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1207 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1208 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1209 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1210 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1212 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1213 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1214 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1215 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1216 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1217 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1220 @node Subscription Methods
1221 @subsection Subscription Methods
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1224 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1225 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1227 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1228 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1230 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1234 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1235 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1236 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1237 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1238 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1242 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1243 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1245 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1247 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1249 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1251 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1252 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1253 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1254 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1255 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1256 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1257 up. Or something like that.
1259 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1260 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1261 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1262 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1263 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1265 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1266 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1267 Kill all new groups.
1269 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1271 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1272 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1273 topic parameter that looks like
1279 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1282 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1287 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1288 A closely related variable is
1289 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1290 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1291 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1292 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1295 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1296 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1297 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1298 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1301 @node Filtering New Groups
1302 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1304 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1305 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1306 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1309 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1312 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1313 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1314 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1315 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1316 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1317 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1318 subscribing these groups.
1319 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1320 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1322 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1323 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1324 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1325 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1326 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1327 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1328 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1329 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1331 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1332 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1333 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1334 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1335 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1336 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1337 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1338 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1339 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1340 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1343 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1344 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1347 @node Changing Servers
1348 @section Changing Servers
1349 @cindex changing servers
1351 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1352 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1353 very flaky and you want to use another.
1355 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1356 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1360 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1361 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1362 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1363 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1366 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1367 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1368 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1369 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1371 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1372 @findex gnus-change-server
1373 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1374 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1375 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1376 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1377 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1379 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1380 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1381 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1382 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1383 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1385 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1386 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1387 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1388 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1389 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1390 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1392 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1393 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1394 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1395 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1397 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1398 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1399 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1400 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1401 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1402 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1403 cache for all groups).
1407 @section Startup Files
1408 @cindex startup files
1413 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1414 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1416 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1417 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1418 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1419 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1420 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1421 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1422 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1424 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1425 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1426 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1427 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1428 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1429 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1431 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1432 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1433 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1434 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1435 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1436 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1437 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1438 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1439 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1440 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1442 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1443 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1444 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1445 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1446 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1447 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1448 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1449 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1450 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1451 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1452 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1453 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1455 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1456 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1457 @vindex version-control
1458 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1459 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1460 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1461 If you want version control for this file, set
1462 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1463 @code{version-control} variable.
1465 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1466 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1467 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1468 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1469 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1470 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1471 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1472 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1473 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1474 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1477 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1478 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1480 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1481 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1484 @vindex gnus-init-file
1485 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1486 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1487 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1488 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1489 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1490 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1491 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1492 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1493 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1494 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1500 @cindex dribble file
1503 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1504 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1505 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1506 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1507 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1510 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1511 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1514 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1515 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1516 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1518 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1519 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1520 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1521 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1522 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1523 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1525 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1526 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1527 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1530 @node The Active File
1531 @section The Active File
1533 @cindex ignored groups
1535 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1536 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1537 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1539 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1540 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1541 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1542 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1543 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1544 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1545 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1548 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1549 @c if you set it to anything else.
1551 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1553 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1554 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1555 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1557 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1558 you actually subscribe to.
1560 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1561 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1562 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1563 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1565 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1566 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1567 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1568 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1569 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1570 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1572 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1573 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1574 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1577 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1578 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1579 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1580 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1581 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1582 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1584 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1585 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1587 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1588 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1590 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1591 secondary select methods.
1594 @node Startup Variables
1595 @section Startup Variables
1599 @item gnus-load-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1601 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1602 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1603 times you start gnus.
1605 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1606 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1607 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1609 @item gnus-startup-hook
1610 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1611 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1613 @item gnus-started-hook
1614 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1615 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1618 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1619 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1620 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1621 generating the group buffer.
1623 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1624 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1625 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1626 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1627 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1628 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1629 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1630 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1632 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1633 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1634 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1635 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1636 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1637 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1639 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1640 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1641 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1643 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1644 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1645 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1647 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1648 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1649 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1650 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1656 @chapter Group Buffer
1657 @cindex group buffer
1659 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1661 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1662 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1663 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1664 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1665 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1666 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1667 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1668 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1669 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1670 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1671 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1672 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1673 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1674 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1675 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1676 @c human rights at 9...
1679 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1680 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1681 long as gnus is active.
1685 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1686 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1687 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1688 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1689 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1690 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1691 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1692 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1698 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1699 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1700 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1701 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1702 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1703 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1704 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1705 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1706 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1707 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1708 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1709 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1710 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1711 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1712 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1713 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1714 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1718 @node Group Buffer Format
1719 @section Group Buffer Format
1722 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1723 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1724 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1728 @node Group Line Specification
1729 @subsection Group Line Specification
1730 @cindex group buffer format
1732 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1733 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1735 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1738 25: news.announce.newusers
1739 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1744 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1745 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1746 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1747 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1749 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1750 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1751 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1752 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1753 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1754 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1756 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1758 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1759 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1760 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1761 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1762 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1764 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1765 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1766 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1768 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1773 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1776 Whether the group is subscribed.
1779 Level of subscribedness.
1782 Number of unread articles.
1785 Number of dormant articles.
1788 Number of ticked articles.
1791 Number of read articles.
1794 Number of unseen articles.
1797 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1798 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1800 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1801 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1802 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1803 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1804 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1805 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1806 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1807 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1810 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1813 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1822 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1823 comment element in the group parameters.
1826 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1827 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1828 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1832 @samp{m} if moderated.
1835 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1841 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1847 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1851 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1854 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1855 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1856 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1857 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1858 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1861 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1863 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1867 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1870 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1874 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1875 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1876 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1877 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1878 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1879 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1884 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1885 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1886 group, or a bogus native group.
1889 @node Group Modeline Specification
1890 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1891 @cindex group modeline
1893 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1894 The mode line can be changed by setting
1895 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1896 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1900 The native news server.
1902 The native select method.
1906 @node Group Highlighting
1907 @subsection Group Highlighting
1908 @cindex highlighting
1909 @cindex group highlighting
1911 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1912 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1913 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1914 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1915 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1917 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1921 (cond (window-system
1922 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1923 (defface my-group-face-1
1924 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1925 (defface my-group-face-2
1926 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1927 (defface my-group-face-3
1928 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1929 (defface my-group-face-4
1930 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1931 (defface my-group-face-5
1932 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1934 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1935 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1936 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1937 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1938 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1939 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1942 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1944 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1951 The number of unread articles in the group.
1955 Whether the group is a mail group.
1957 The level of the group.
1959 The score of the group.
1961 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1963 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1964 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1966 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1967 topic being inserted.
1970 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1971 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1972 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1974 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1975 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1976 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1977 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1978 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1981 @node Group Maneuvering
1982 @section Group Maneuvering
1983 @cindex group movement
1985 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1986 expected, hopefully.
1992 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1993 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1994 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2000 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2001 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2002 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2006 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2007 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2011 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2012 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2016 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2017 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2018 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2022 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2023 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2024 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2027 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2033 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2034 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2035 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2040 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2041 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2042 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2047 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2048 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2051 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2052 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2053 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2054 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2058 @node Selecting a Group
2059 @section Selecting a Group
2060 @cindex group selection
2065 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2066 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2067 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2068 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2069 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2070 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2071 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2072 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2073 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2074 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2076 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2077 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2078 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2080 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2081 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2086 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2087 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2088 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2089 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2090 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2094 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2095 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2096 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2097 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2098 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2099 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2100 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2101 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2102 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2103 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2106 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2107 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2108 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2109 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2110 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2113 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2114 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2115 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2116 doing any processing of its contents
2117 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2118 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2119 manner will have no permanent effects.
2123 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2124 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2125 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2126 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2127 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2128 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2129 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2130 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2133 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2134 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2135 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2136 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2137 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2138 Which article this is is controlled by the
2139 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2145 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2148 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2151 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2153 @item unseen-or-unread
2154 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2155 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2159 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2163 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2164 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2166 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2167 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2168 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2169 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2173 @node Subscription Commands
2174 @section Subscription Commands
2175 @cindex subscription
2183 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2184 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2185 Toggle subscription to the current group
2186 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2192 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2193 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2194 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2195 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2201 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2202 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2203 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2209 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2210 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2213 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2214 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2215 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2216 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2217 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2223 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2224 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2228 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2229 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2232 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2233 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2234 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2235 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2236 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2237 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2238 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2239 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2240 @file{.newsrc} file.
2244 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2254 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2255 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2256 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2257 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2258 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2259 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2264 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2265 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2266 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2270 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2271 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2272 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2274 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2275 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2276 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2277 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2278 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2279 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2286 @section Group Levels
2290 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2291 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2292 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2293 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2294 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2296 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2302 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2303 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2304 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2305 prompted for a level.
2308 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2309 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2310 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2311 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2312 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2313 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2314 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2315 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2316 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2317 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2318 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2319 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2320 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2321 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2322 reasons of efficiency.
2324 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2325 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2327 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2328 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2329 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2330 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2331 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2332 groups are hidden, in a way.
2334 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2335 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2336 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2337 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2338 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2339 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2341 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2342 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2343 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2344 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2345 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2346 list of killed groups.)
2348 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2349 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2350 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2352 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2353 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2354 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2355 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2356 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2357 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2358 relevant valid ranges.
2360 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2361 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2362 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2363 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2364 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2365 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2368 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2369 one with the best level.
2371 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2372 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2373 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2376 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2377 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2378 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2379 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2382 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2383 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2384 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2385 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2387 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2388 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2389 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2390 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2391 to 5. The default is 6.
2395 @section Group Score
2400 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2401 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2402 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2405 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2406 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2407 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2408 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2409 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2410 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2411 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2412 least significant part.))
2414 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2415 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2416 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2417 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2418 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2419 action after each summary exit, you can add
2420 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2421 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2422 slow things down somewhat.
2425 @node Marking Groups
2426 @section Marking Groups
2427 @cindex marking groups
2429 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2430 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2431 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2432 bidding on those groups.
2434 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2435 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2436 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2444 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2445 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2451 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2452 Remove the mark from the current group
2453 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2457 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2458 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2462 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2463 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2467 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2468 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2472 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2473 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2474 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2477 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2479 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2480 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2481 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2482 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2483 the command to be executed.
2486 @node Foreign Groups
2487 @section Foreign Groups
2488 @cindex foreign groups
2490 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2491 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2492 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2493 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2500 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2501 @cindex making groups
2502 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2503 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2504 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2508 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2509 @cindex renaming groups
2510 Rename the current group to something else
2511 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2512 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2518 @findex gnus-group-customize
2519 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2523 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2524 @cindex renaming groups
2525 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2526 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2530 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2531 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2532 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2536 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2537 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2538 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2542 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2544 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2545 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2551 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2555 @cindex (ding) archive
2556 @cindex archive group
2557 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2558 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2559 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2560 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2561 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2562 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2563 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2567 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2569 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2570 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2571 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2572 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2576 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2578 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2579 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2580 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2584 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2585 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2587 Make a group based on some file or other
2588 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2589 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2590 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2591 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2592 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2593 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2594 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2595 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2596 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2600 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2601 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2602 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2603 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2607 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2611 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2612 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2613 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2614 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2615 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2616 @xref{Web Searches}.
2618 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2619 to a particular group by using a match string like
2620 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2623 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2624 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2625 This function will delete the current group
2626 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2627 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2628 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2629 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2630 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2634 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2635 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2636 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2640 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2641 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2642 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2645 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2648 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2649 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2650 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2651 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2652 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2653 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2657 @node Group Parameters
2658 @section Group Parameters
2659 @cindex group parameters
2661 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2662 Here's an example group parameter list:
2665 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2669 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2670 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2671 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2672 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2674 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2675 is an alist of regexps and values.
2677 The following group parameters can be used:
2682 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2685 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2688 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2689 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2690 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2691 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2692 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2694 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2695 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2696 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2697 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2698 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2699 list address instead.
2701 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2705 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2708 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2711 It is totally ignored
2712 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2713 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2715 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2716 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2717 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2718 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2719 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2721 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2722 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2723 sending the message.
2725 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2726 @cindex Mail List Groups
2727 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2728 entering summary buffer.
2730 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2735 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2736 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2737 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2738 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2739 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{Mailing
2740 Lists, , Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual} for a complete
2741 treatment of available MFT support.
2743 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2744 directly uses this group parameter.
2748 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2749 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2750 of whether it has any unread articles.
2752 @item broken-reply-to
2753 @cindex broken-reply-to
2754 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2755 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2756 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2757 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2758 broken behavior. So there!
2762 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2763 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2767 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2768 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2769 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2774 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2775 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2776 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2777 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2778 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2779 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2780 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2781 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2782 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2786 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2787 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2788 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2790 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2793 @cindex total-expire
2794 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2795 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2796 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2797 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2800 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2804 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2805 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2806 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2807 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2808 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2809 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2810 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2813 @cindex score file group parameter
2814 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2815 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2816 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2819 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2820 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2821 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2822 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2825 @cindex admin-address
2826 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2827 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2828 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2829 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2833 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2834 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2838 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2841 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2842 entering the group with C-u @var{integer}.
2845 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2849 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2851 Here are some examples:
2855 Display only unread articles.
2858 Display everything except expirable articles.
2860 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2861 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2865 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2866 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2867 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2868 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2869 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2873 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2874 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2875 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2879 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2880 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2881 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2885 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2886 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2887 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2889 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2891 @item ignored-charsets
2892 @cindex ignored-charset
2893 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2894 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2895 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2897 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2900 @cindex posting-style
2901 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2902 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2903 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2904 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2905 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2907 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2908 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2909 like this in the group parameters:
2914 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2915 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2920 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2921 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2925 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2926 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2927 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2928 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2929 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2933 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2934 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2935 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2936 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2938 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2939 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2940 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2941 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2944 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2945 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2949 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2952 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2953 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2954 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2955 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2956 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2957 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2958 @code{eval}ed there.
2960 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2961 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2962 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2963 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2964 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2965 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2966 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2967 parameters for the group.
2970 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2971 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2972 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2973 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2974 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2978 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2979 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2980 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2981 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2982 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2984 @vindex gnus-parameters
2985 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2986 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2990 (setq gnus-parameters
2992 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2993 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2994 (gnus-summary-line-format
2995 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2999 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3003 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3007 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3010 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3011 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3014 @node Listing Groups
3015 @section Listing Groups
3016 @cindex group listing
3018 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3026 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3027 List all groups that have unread articles
3028 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3029 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3030 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3031 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3038 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3039 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3040 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3041 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3042 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3043 unsubscribed groups).
3047 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3048 List all unread groups on a specific level
3049 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3050 with no unread articles.
3054 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3055 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3056 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3057 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3062 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3063 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3067 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3068 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3069 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3073 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3074 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3078 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3079 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3080 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3081 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3082 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3083 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3084 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3085 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3089 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3090 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3091 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3095 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3096 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3097 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3101 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3102 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3106 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3107 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3111 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3112 List groups limited within the current selection
3113 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3117 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3118 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3122 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3123 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3127 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3128 @cindex visible group parameter
3129 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3130 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3131 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3132 get the same effect.
3134 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3135 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3136 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3137 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3138 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3141 @node Sorting Groups
3142 @section Sorting Groups
3143 @cindex sorting groups
3145 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3147 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3148 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3149 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3150 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3155 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3156 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3157 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3159 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3160 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3161 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3163 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3164 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3165 Sort by group level.
3167 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3168 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3169 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3171 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3172 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3173 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3174 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3176 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3177 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3178 Sort by number of unread articles.
3180 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3181 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3182 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3184 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3185 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3186 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3191 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3192 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3196 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3197 some sorting criteria:
3201 @kindex G S a (Group)
3202 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3203 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3204 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3207 @kindex G S u (Group)
3208 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3209 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3210 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3213 @kindex G S l (Group)
3214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3215 Sort the group buffer by group level
3216 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3219 @kindex G S v (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3221 Sort the group buffer by group score
3222 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3225 @kindex G S r (Group)
3226 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3227 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3228 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3231 @kindex G S m (Group)
3232 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3233 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3234 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3237 @kindex G S n (Group)
3238 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3239 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3240 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3244 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3245 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3247 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3248 commands will sort in reverse order.
3250 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3254 @kindex G P a (Group)
3255 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3256 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3257 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3260 @kindex G P u (Group)
3261 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3262 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3263 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3266 @kindex G P l (Group)
3267 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3268 Sort the groups by group level
3269 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3272 @kindex G P v (Group)
3273 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3274 Sort the groups by group score
3275 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3278 @kindex G P r (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3280 Sort the groups by group rank
3281 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3284 @kindex G P m (Group)
3285 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3286 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3287 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3290 @kindex G P n (Group)
3291 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3292 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3293 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3296 @kindex G P s (Group)
3297 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3298 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3302 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3306 @node Group Maintenance
3307 @section Group Maintenance
3308 @cindex bogus groups
3313 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3314 Find bogus groups and delete them
3315 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3319 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3320 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3321 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3322 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3323 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3327 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3328 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3329 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3330 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3331 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3332 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3335 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3336 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3337 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3338 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3343 @node Browse Foreign Server
3344 @section Browse Foreign Server
3345 @cindex foreign servers
3346 @cindex browsing servers
3351 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3352 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3353 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3354 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3358 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3359 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3360 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3362 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3367 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3368 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3372 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3373 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3376 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3377 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3378 Enter the current group and display the first article
3379 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3382 @kindex RET (Browse)
3383 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3384 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3388 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3389 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3390 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3396 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3397 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3401 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3402 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3406 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3407 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3408 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3413 @section Exiting gnus
3414 @cindex exiting gnus
3416 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3421 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3422 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3423 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3424 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3428 @findex gnus-group-exit
3429 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3430 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3434 @findex gnus-group-quit
3435 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3436 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3439 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3440 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3441 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3442 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3443 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3444 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
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@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3499 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3500 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
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.el} 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} (@pxref{Compressed
4167 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
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.el}) (@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 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5072 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5073 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5074 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5075 what is considered uninteresting with
5076 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5077 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5080 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5081 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5082 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5085 @kindex RET (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5087 Scroll the current article one line forward
5088 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5091 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5093 Scroll the current article one line backward
5094 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5098 @kindex A g (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5101 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5102 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5103 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5104 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5105 the way it came from the server.
5107 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5108 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5109 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5112 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5117 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5122 @kindex A < (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5124 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5125 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5130 @kindex A > (Summary)
5131 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5132 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5136 @kindex A s (Summary)
5138 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5139 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5140 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5144 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5145 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5150 @node Reply Followup and Post
5151 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5154 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5155 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5156 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5157 * Canceling and Superseding::
5161 @node Summary Mail Commands
5162 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5164 @cindex composing mail
5166 Commands for composing a mail message:
5172 @kindex S r (Summary)
5174 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5175 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5176 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5177 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5178 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5183 @kindex S R (Summary)
5184 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5185 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5186 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5187 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5188 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5191 @kindex S w (Summary)
5192 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5193 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5194 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5195 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5196 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5199 @kindex S W (Summary)
5200 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5201 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5202 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5203 the process/prefix convention.
5206 @kindex S v (Summary)
5207 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5208 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5209 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5210 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5211 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5212 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5215 @kindex S V (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5217 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5218 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5219 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5222 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5223 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5224 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5225 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5228 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5229 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5230 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5231 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5232 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5236 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5237 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5239 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5240 Forward the current article to some other person
5241 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5242 headers of the forwarded article.
5247 @kindex S m (Summary)
5248 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5249 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5250 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5251 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5252 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5257 @kindex S i (Summary)
5258 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5259 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5260 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5261 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5263 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5264 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5265 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5266 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5267 for this to work though.
5270 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5271 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5272 @cindex bouncing mail
5273 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5274 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5275 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5276 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5277 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5278 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5279 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5280 very well fail, though.
5283 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5285 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5286 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5287 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5288 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5289 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5290 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5291 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5292 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5294 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5295 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5296 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5297 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5298 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5300 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5301 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5304 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5306 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5307 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5308 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5311 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5313 @cindex crossposting
5314 @cindex excessive crossposting
5315 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5316 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5318 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5319 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5320 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5321 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5322 command understands the process/prefix convention
5323 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5327 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5328 Manual}, for more information.
5331 @node Summary Post Commands
5332 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5334 @cindex composing news
5336 Commands for posting a news article:
5342 @kindex S p (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5344 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5345 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5346 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5347 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5352 @kindex S f (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5354 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5355 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5359 @kindex S F (Summary)
5361 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5362 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5363 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5364 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5365 process/prefix convention.
5368 @kindex S n (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5370 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5371 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5374 @kindex S N (Summary)
5375 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5376 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5377 message through mail and include the original message
5378 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5379 the process/prefix convention.
5382 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5384 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5385 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5386 headers of the forwarded article.
5389 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5390 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5392 @cindex making digests
5393 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5394 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5395 process/prefix convention.
5398 @kindex S u (Summary)
5399 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5400 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5401 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5402 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5405 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5406 Manual}, for more information.
5409 @node Summary Message Commands
5410 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5414 @kindex S y (Summary)
5415 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5416 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5417 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5418 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5419 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5424 @node Canceling and Superseding
5425 @subsection Canceling Articles
5426 @cindex canceling articles
5427 @cindex superseding articles
5429 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5430 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5432 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5434 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5436 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5437 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5438 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5439 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5440 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5441 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5443 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5444 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5447 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5448 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5449 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5451 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5452 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5453 your original article.
5455 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5457 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5458 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5459 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5462 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5463 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5464 have posted almost the same article twice.
5466 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5467 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5468 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5469 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5470 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5471 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5472 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5473 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5474 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5475 canceled/superseded.
5477 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5479 @node Delayed Articles
5480 @section Delayed Articles
5481 @cindex delayed sending
5482 @cindex send delayed
5484 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5485 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5486 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5487 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5490 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5493 @findex gnus-delay-article
5494 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5495 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5496 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5497 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5501 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5502 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5503 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5504 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5507 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5508 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5509 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5512 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5513 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5514 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5515 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5516 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5517 that means a time tomorrow.
5520 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5521 couple of variables:
5524 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5525 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5526 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5527 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5529 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5530 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5531 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5532 formats described above.
5534 @item gnus-delay-group
5535 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5536 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5537 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5538 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5540 @item gnus-delay-header
5541 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5542 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5543 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5544 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5547 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5548 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5549 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5550 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5551 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5553 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5554 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5555 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5556 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5557 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5558 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5559 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5562 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5563 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5565 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5566 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5567 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5568 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5569 argument is ignored.
5571 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5572 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5573 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5577 @node Marking Articles
5578 @section Marking Articles
5579 @cindex article marking
5580 @cindex article ticking
5583 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5585 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5586 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5587 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5589 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5592 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5593 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5594 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5598 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5602 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5603 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5604 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5608 @node Unread Articles
5609 @subsection Unread Articles
5611 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5616 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5617 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5619 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5620 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5621 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5622 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5623 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5624 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5625 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5628 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5629 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5631 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5632 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5633 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5634 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5638 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5639 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5641 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5646 @subsection Read Articles
5647 @cindex expirable mark
5649 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5654 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5655 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5656 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5659 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5660 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5663 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5664 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5665 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5668 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5669 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5672 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5673 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5676 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5677 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5680 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5681 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5684 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5685 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5688 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5689 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5692 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5693 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5697 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5698 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5699 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5703 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5704 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5706 One more special mark, though:
5710 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5711 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5713 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5714 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5715 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5716 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5722 @subsection Other Marks
5723 @cindex process mark
5726 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5732 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5733 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5734 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5735 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5736 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5739 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5740 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5741 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5742 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5745 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5746 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5747 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5750 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5751 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5752 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5755 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5756 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5757 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5758 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5761 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5762 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5763 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5764 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5765 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5766 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5769 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5770 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5771 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5772 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5775 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5776 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5777 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5778 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5779 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5783 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5784 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5785 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5786 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5787 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5788 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5791 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5792 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5793 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5794 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5795 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5796 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5800 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5801 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5802 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5803 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5804 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5807 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5808 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5809 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5810 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5811 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5812 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5816 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5817 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5818 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5820 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5821 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5822 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5826 @subsection Setting Marks
5827 @cindex setting marks
5829 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5834 @kindex M c (Summary)
5835 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5836 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5837 @cindex mark as unread
5838 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5839 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5845 @kindex M t (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5847 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5848 @xref{Article Caching}.
5853 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5855 Mark the current article as dormant
5856 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5860 @kindex M d (Summary)
5862 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5863 Mark the current article as read
5864 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5868 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5869 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5870 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5875 @kindex M k (Summary)
5876 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5877 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5878 and then select the next unread article
5879 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5883 @kindex M K (Summary)
5884 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5885 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5886 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5887 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5890 @kindex M C (Summary)
5891 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5892 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5893 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5896 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5897 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5898 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5899 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5902 @kindex M H (Summary)
5903 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5904 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5905 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5908 @kindex M h (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5910 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5911 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5914 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5915 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5916 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5917 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5920 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5921 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5922 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5923 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5927 @kindex M e (Summary)
5929 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5930 Mark the current article as expirable
5931 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5934 @kindex M b (Summary)
5935 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5936 Set a bookmark in the current article
5937 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5940 @kindex M B (Summary)
5941 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5942 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5943 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5946 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5948 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5949 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5952 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5954 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5955 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5958 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5959 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5960 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5961 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5962 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5965 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5966 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5967 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5968 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5969 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5970 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5971 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5972 The default is @code{t}.
5975 @node Generic Marking Commands
5976 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5978 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5979 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5980 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5981 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5982 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5985 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5986 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5989 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5990 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5991 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5992 to list in this manual.
5994 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5995 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5996 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5997 article, you could say something like:
6000 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6001 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6002 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6008 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6009 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6013 @node Setting Process Marks
6014 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6015 @cindex setting process marks
6017 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6018 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6019 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6020 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6021 commands into the cache. For more information,
6022 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6029 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6031 Mark the current article with the process mark
6032 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6033 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6037 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6038 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6039 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6040 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6043 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6044 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6045 Remove the process mark from all articles
6046 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6049 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6050 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6051 Invert the list of process marked articles
6052 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6055 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6056 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6057 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6058 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6061 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6062 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6063 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6064 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6067 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6068 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6069 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6073 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6074 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6077 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6078 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6079 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6080 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6083 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6085 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6086 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6089 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6091 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6092 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6095 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6097 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6100 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6102 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6103 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6106 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6107 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6108 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6111 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6112 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6113 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6114 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6117 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6118 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6119 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6120 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6123 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6124 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6125 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6126 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6129 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6130 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6131 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6132 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6136 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6137 set process marks based on article body contents.
6144 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6145 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6146 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6149 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6150 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6151 additional articles.
6157 @kindex / / (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6159 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6160 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6164 @kindex / a (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6166 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6171 @kindex / x (Summary)
6172 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6173 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6174 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6175 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6180 @kindex / u (Summary)
6182 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6183 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6184 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6185 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6186 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6189 @kindex / m (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6191 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6192 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6195 @kindex / t (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6197 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6198 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6199 articles younger than that number of days.
6202 @kindex / n (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6204 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6205 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6206 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6209 @kindex / w (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6211 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6212 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6216 @kindex / . (Summary)
6217 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6218 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6219 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6222 @kindex / v (Summary)
6223 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6224 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6225 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6228 @kindex / p (Summary)
6229 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6230 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6231 group parameter predicate
6232 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6233 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6237 @kindex M S (Summary)
6238 @kindex / E (Summary)
6239 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6240 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6241 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6244 @kindex / D (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6246 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6250 @kindex / * (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6252 Include all cached articles in the limit
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6256 @kindex / d (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6258 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6259 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6262 @kindex / M (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6264 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6267 @kindex / T (Summary)
6268 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6269 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6272 @kindex / c (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6274 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6275 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6278 @kindex / C (Summary)
6279 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6280 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6281 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6282 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6285 @kindex / N (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6287 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6288 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6291 @kindex / o (Summary)
6292 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6293 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6294 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6302 @cindex article threading
6304 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6305 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6306 hierarchical fashion.
6308 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6309 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6310 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6311 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6312 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6313 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6314 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6316 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6320 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6323 A tree-like article structure.
6326 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6329 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6330 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6331 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6332 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6333 called loose threads.
6335 @item thread gathering
6336 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6338 @item sparse threads
6339 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6340 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6346 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6347 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6351 @node Customizing Threading
6352 @subsection Customizing Threading
6353 @cindex customizing threading
6356 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6357 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6358 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6359 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6364 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6367 @cindex loose threads
6370 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6371 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6372 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6373 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6374 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6375 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6377 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6378 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6379 There are four possible values:
6383 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6384 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6385 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6386 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6387 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6392 @cindex adopting articles
6397 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6398 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6399 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6400 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6403 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6404 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6405 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6406 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6407 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6408 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6409 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6410 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6411 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6412 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6415 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6416 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6417 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6421 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6422 display them after one another.
6425 Don't gather loose threads.
6428 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6429 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6430 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6431 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6432 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6433 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6434 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6435 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6436 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6437 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6438 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6440 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6441 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6442 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6445 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6446 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6447 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6448 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6449 simplification is used.
6451 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6452 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6453 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6454 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6456 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6458 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6464 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6465 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6466 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6467 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6472 (mapconcat 'identity
6473 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6475 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6478 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6481 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6482 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6483 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6484 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6485 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6486 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6488 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6491 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6492 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6493 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6495 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6496 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6499 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6500 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6501 Remove excessive whitespace.
6503 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6504 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6505 Remove all whitespace.
6508 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6511 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6512 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6513 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6514 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6515 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6516 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6517 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6518 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6520 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6521 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6522 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6523 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6524 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6525 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6526 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6527 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6528 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6532 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6533 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6534 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6535 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6537 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6538 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6539 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6542 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6546 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6547 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6553 @node Filling In Threads
6554 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6557 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6558 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6559 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6560 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6561 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6562 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6563 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6564 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6565 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6566 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6567 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6568 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6571 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6572 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6573 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6575 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6576 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6577 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6578 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6579 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6580 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6581 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6582 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6583 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6584 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6585 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6586 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6587 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6588 @code{nil} by default.
6590 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6591 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6592 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6593 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6594 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6595 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6596 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6598 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6599 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6600 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6605 @node More Threading
6606 @subsubsection More Threading
6609 @item gnus-show-threads
6610 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6611 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6612 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6613 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6614 slower and more awkward.
6616 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6617 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6618 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6621 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6622 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6623 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6628 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6629 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6630 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6633 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6634 unread, but you get my drift.)
6637 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6638 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6639 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6640 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6641 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6642 threads are expunged.
6644 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6645 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6646 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6649 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6650 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6651 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6652 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6653 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6654 result in a new thread.
6656 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6657 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6658 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6661 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6662 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6663 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6664 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6665 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6666 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6667 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6668 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6669 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6670 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6671 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6676 @node Low-Level Threading
6677 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6681 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6682 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6683 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6684 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6685 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6686 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6688 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6689 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6690 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6691 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6692 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6693 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6694 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6695 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6696 meaningful. Here's one example:
6699 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6701 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6702 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6704 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6706 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6713 @node Thread Commands
6714 @subsection Thread Commands
6715 @cindex thread commands
6721 @kindex T k (Summary)
6722 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6723 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6724 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6725 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6726 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6731 @kindex T l (Summary)
6732 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6733 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6734 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6735 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6738 @kindex T i (Summary)
6739 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6740 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6741 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6744 @kindex T # (Summary)
6745 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6746 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6747 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6750 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6751 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6752 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6753 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6756 @kindex T T (Summary)
6757 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6758 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6761 @kindex T s (Summary)
6762 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6763 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6764 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6767 @kindex T h (Summary)
6768 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6769 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6772 @kindex T S (Summary)
6773 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6774 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6777 @kindex T H (Summary)
6778 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6779 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6782 @kindex T t (Summary)
6783 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6784 Re-thread the current article's thread
6785 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6786 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6789 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6790 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6791 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6792 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6796 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6797 understand the numeric prefix.
6802 @kindex T n (Summary)
6804 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6806 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6807 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6808 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6811 @kindex T p (Summary)
6813 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6815 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6816 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6817 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6820 @kindex T d (Summary)
6821 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6822 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6825 @kindex T u (Summary)
6826 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6827 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6830 @kindex T o (Summary)
6831 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6832 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6835 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6836 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6837 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6838 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6839 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6840 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6841 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6842 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6843 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6844 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6845 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6846 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6850 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6851 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6853 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6854 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6855 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6856 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6857 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6858 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6859 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6860 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6861 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6862 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6863 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6864 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6865 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6867 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6868 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6869 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6870 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6871 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6872 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6873 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6874 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6876 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6877 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6878 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6880 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6881 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6882 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6883 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6884 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6885 ascending article order.
6887 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6888 by number, you could do something like:
6891 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6892 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6893 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6894 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6897 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6898 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6899 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6900 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6901 which the articles arrived.
6903 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6907 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6909 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6910 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6913 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6914 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6915 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6916 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6919 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6920 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6921 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6922 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6923 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6924 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6925 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6926 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6927 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6928 variable. It is very similar to the
6929 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6930 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6931 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6932 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6933 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6934 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6935 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6937 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6941 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6942 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6943 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6948 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6949 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6950 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6951 @cindex article pre-fetch
6954 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6955 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6956 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6957 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6958 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6960 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6961 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6963 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6964 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6965 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6966 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6967 connection is blocked.
6969 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6970 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6971 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6972 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6974 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6975 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6976 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6977 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6980 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
6983 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6984 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6985 happen automatically.
6987 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6988 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6989 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6990 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6991 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6992 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6993 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6995 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6996 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6997 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6998 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
6999 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7000 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7001 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7002 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7003 article data structure as the only parameter.
7005 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7006 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7009 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7010 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7011 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7012 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7015 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7018 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7019 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7020 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7022 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7023 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7024 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7025 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7029 Remove articles when they are read.
7032 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7035 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7037 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7038 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7039 @c from the next group.
7042 @node Article Caching
7043 @section Article Caching
7044 @cindex article caching
7047 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7048 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7049 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7050 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7051 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7053 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7055 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7056 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7057 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7058 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7059 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7060 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7061 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7062 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7064 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7065 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7066 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7067 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7068 as dormant, and don't worry.
7070 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7072 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7073 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7074 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7075 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7076 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7077 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7078 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7079 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7080 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7081 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7083 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7084 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7085 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7086 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7087 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7088 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7089 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7090 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7091 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7092 not then be downloaded by this command.
7094 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7095 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7096 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7097 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7098 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7099 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7101 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7102 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7103 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7104 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7105 variables, the group is not cached.
7107 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7108 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7109 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7110 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7111 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7112 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7113 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7114 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7115 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7118 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7119 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7120 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7121 where, isn't that cool?
7123 @node Persistent Articles
7124 @section Persistent Articles
7125 @cindex persistent articles
7127 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7128 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7129 useful in my opinion.
7131 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7132 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7133 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7134 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7135 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7136 the expiry going on at the news server.
7138 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7139 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7140 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7146 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7147 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7150 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7151 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7152 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7153 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7157 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7159 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7160 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7161 interested in persistent articles:
7164 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7168 @node Article Backlog
7169 @section Article Backlog
7171 @cindex article backlog
7173 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7174 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7175 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7176 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7177 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7178 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7179 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7180 increase memory usage some.
7182 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7183 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7184 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7185 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7186 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7187 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7188 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7190 The default value is 20.
7193 @node Saving Articles
7194 @section Saving Articles
7195 @cindex saving articles
7197 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7198 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7199 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7200 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7201 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7203 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7204 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7205 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7207 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7208 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7209 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7211 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7212 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7213 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7214 deleted before saving.
7220 @kindex O o (Summary)
7222 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7223 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7224 Save the current article using the default article saver
7225 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7228 @kindex O m (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7230 Save the current article in mail format
7231 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7234 @kindex O r (Summary)
7235 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7236 Save the current article in rmail format
7237 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7240 @kindex O f (Summary)
7241 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7242 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7243 Save the current article in plain file format
7244 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7247 @kindex O F (Summary)
7248 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7249 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7250 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7253 @kindex O b (Summary)
7254 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7255 Save the current article body in plain file format
7256 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7259 @kindex O h (Summary)
7260 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7261 Save the current article in mh folder format
7262 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7265 @kindex O v (Summary)
7266 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7267 Save the current article in a VM folder
7268 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7272 @kindex O p (Summary)
7274 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7275 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7276 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7277 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7278 complete headers in the piped output.
7281 @kindex O P (Summary)
7282 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7283 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7284 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7285 external program Muttprint (see
7286 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7287 options to use is controlled by the variable
7288 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7292 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7293 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7294 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7295 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7296 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7297 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7298 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7299 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7300 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7301 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7302 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7303 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7307 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7308 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7309 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7310 functions below, or you can create your own.
7314 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7315 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7316 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7317 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7318 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7319 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7320 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7322 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7323 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7324 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7325 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7326 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7327 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7329 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7330 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7331 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7332 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7333 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7334 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7335 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7337 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7338 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7339 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7340 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7341 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7342 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7344 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7345 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7346 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7347 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7348 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7350 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7351 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7352 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7353 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7354 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7357 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7358 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7359 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7360 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7361 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7363 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7364 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7365 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7366 reader to use this setting.
7369 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7370 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7371 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7372 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7375 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7376 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7377 available functions that generate names:
7381 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7382 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7383 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7385 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7386 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7387 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7389 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7390 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7391 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7393 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7394 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7395 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7397 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7398 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7399 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7402 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7403 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7404 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7405 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7406 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7410 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7411 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7412 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7413 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7416 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7417 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7418 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7419 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7420 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7421 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7422 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7423 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7424 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7426 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7427 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7428 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7429 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7431 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7432 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7433 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7436 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7437 lots of mail groups called things like
7438 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7439 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7440 following will do just that:
7443 (defun my-save-name (group)
7444 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7445 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7447 (setq gnus-split-methods
7448 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7453 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7454 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7455 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7456 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7457 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7458 all the files in the top level directory
7459 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7460 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7461 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7462 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7464 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7465 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7466 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7467 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7468 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7471 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7475 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7476 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7477 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7480 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7481 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7482 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7483 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7486 @node Decoding Articles
7487 @section Decoding Articles
7488 @cindex decoding articles
7490 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7491 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7494 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7495 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7496 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7497 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7498 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7499 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7503 @cindex article series
7504 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7505 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7506 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7507 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7508 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7510 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7511 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7512 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7514 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7515 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7516 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7518 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7519 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7520 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7523 @node Uuencoded Articles
7524 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7526 @cindex uuencoded articles
7531 @kindex X u (Summary)
7532 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7533 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7534 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7537 @kindex X U (Summary)
7538 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7539 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7540 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7543 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7544 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7545 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7548 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7549 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7550 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7551 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7555 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7556 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7557 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7558 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7559 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7561 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7562 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7563 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7564 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7567 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7568 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7569 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7570 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7571 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7572 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7576 @node Shell Archives
7577 @subsection Shell Archives
7579 @cindex shell archives
7580 @cindex shared articles
7582 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7583 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7584 some commands to deal with these:
7589 @kindex X s (Summary)
7590 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7591 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7594 @kindex X S (Summary)
7595 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7596 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7599 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7600 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7601 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7604 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7605 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7606 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7607 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7611 @node PostScript Files
7612 @subsection PostScript Files
7618 @kindex X p (Summary)
7619 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7620 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7623 @kindex X P (Summary)
7624 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7625 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7626 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7629 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7630 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7631 View the current PostScript series
7632 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7635 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7636 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7637 View and save the current PostScript series
7638 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7643 @subsection Other Files
7647 @kindex X o (Summary)
7648 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7649 Save the current series
7650 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7653 @kindex X b (Summary)
7654 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7655 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7656 doesn't really work yet.
7660 @node Decoding Variables
7661 @subsection Decoding Variables
7663 Adjective, not verb.
7666 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7667 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7668 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7672 @node Rule Variables
7673 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7674 @cindex rule variables
7676 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7677 variables are of the form
7680 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7687 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7688 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7690 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7691 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7694 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7695 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7698 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7699 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7700 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7701 user and default view rules.
7703 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7704 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7705 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7710 @node Other Decode Variables
7711 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7714 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7716 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7717 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7718 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7719 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7720 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7724 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7725 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7728 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7729 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7730 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7733 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7734 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7735 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7736 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7737 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7740 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7741 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7742 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7744 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7745 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7746 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7747 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7748 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7751 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7752 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7753 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7755 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7756 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7757 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7758 looking for files to display.
7760 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7761 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7762 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7765 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7766 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7767 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7770 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7771 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7772 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7775 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7776 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7777 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7780 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7781 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7782 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7783 decoded articles as unread.
7785 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7786 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7787 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7788 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7790 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7791 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7792 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7794 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7795 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7797 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7798 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7799 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7800 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7802 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7803 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7804 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7805 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7806 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7807 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7808 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7809 simply dropped them.
7814 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7815 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7819 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7820 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7821 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7822 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7823 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7824 for you when you post the article.
7826 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7827 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7828 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7829 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7831 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7832 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7833 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7834 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7835 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7836 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7837 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7839 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7840 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7841 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7842 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7843 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7844 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7845 Default is @code{t}.
7851 @subsection Viewing Files
7852 @cindex viewing files
7853 @cindex pseudo-articles
7855 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7856 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7857 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7858 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7859 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7860 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7861 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7863 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7864 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7865 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7866 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7868 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7869 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7870 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7872 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7873 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7874 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7875 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7876 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7878 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7879 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7880 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7881 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7882 a list of parameters to that command.
7884 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7885 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7886 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7888 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7889 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7890 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7893 @node Article Treatment
7894 @section Article Treatment
7896 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7897 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7898 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7899 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7900 these articles easier.
7903 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7904 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7905 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7906 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7907 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7908 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7909 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
7910 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7911 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7912 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7913 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7917 @node Article Highlighting
7918 @subsection Article Highlighting
7919 @cindex highlighting
7921 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7922 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7927 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7928 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7929 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7930 Do much highlighting of the current article
7931 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7932 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7935 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7936 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7937 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7938 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7939 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7940 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7941 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7942 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7943 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7944 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7945 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7946 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7949 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7950 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7951 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7953 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7956 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7958 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7959 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7960 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7962 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7963 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7964 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7966 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7967 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7968 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7969 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7970 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7971 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7973 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7974 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7975 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7977 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7978 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7979 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7981 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7982 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7983 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7984 that it's a citation.
7986 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7987 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7988 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7990 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7991 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7992 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7994 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7995 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7996 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7997 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8003 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8004 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8005 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8006 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8007 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8008 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8009 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8010 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8015 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8018 @node Article Fontisizing
8019 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8021 @cindex article emphasis
8023 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8024 @kindex W e (Summary)
8025 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8026 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8027 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8028 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8030 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8031 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8032 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8033 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8034 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8035 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8036 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8037 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8041 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8042 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8043 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8052 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8053 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8056 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8057 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8058 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8059 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8060 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8061 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8062 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8063 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8064 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8066 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8067 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8068 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8072 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8075 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8077 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8078 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8079 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8080 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8082 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8085 @node Article Hiding
8086 @subsection Article Hiding
8087 @cindex article hiding
8089 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8090 too much cruft in most articles.
8095 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8096 @findex gnus-article-hide
8097 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8098 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8099 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8102 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8103 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8104 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8108 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8109 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8110 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8111 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8114 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8115 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8116 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8120 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8121 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8122 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8123 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8124 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8125 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8126 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8127 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8131 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8132 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8133 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8134 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8139 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8140 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8141 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8142 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8145 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8146 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8147 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8148 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8151 @cindex stripping advertisements
8152 @cindex advertisements
8153 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8154 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8155 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8156 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8157 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8158 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8159 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8160 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8161 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8162 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8165 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8166 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8167 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8171 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8172 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8173 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8174 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8175 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8176 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8177 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8178 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8179 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8180 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8181 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8184 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8190 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8191 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8192 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8193 customizing the hiding:
8197 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8198 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8199 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8200 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8201 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8202 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8203 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8208 Starting point of the hidden text.
8210 Ending point of the hidden text.
8212 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8214 Number of lines of hidden text.
8217 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8218 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8219 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8220 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8221 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8226 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8227 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8229 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8230 following two variables:
8233 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8234 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8235 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8236 50), hide the cited text.
8238 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8239 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8240 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8245 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8246 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8247 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8248 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8249 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8250 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8254 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8255 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8256 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8258 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8259 citation customization.
8261 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8265 @node Article Washing
8266 @subsection Article Washing
8268 @cindex article washing
8270 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8271 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8273 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8274 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8277 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8278 articles by default.
8283 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8284 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8288 Force redisplaying of the current article
8289 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8290 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8291 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8292 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8295 @kindex W l (Summary)
8296 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8297 Remove page breaks from the current article
8298 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8302 @kindex W r (Summary)
8303 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8304 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8305 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8306 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8307 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8308 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8310 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8311 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8312 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8313 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8316 @kindex W m (Summary)
8317 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8318 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8322 @kindex W t (Summary)
8324 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8325 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8326 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8329 @kindex W v (Summary)
8330 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8331 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8332 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8335 @kindex W m (Summary)
8336 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8337 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8338 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8341 @kindex W o (Summary)
8342 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8343 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8346 @kindex W d (Summary)
8347 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8348 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8350 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8352 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8353 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8354 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8355 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8358 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8359 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8360 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8361 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8364 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8365 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8366 @cindex Outlook Express
8367 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8368 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8369 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8372 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8373 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8374 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8375 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8376 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8377 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8378 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8379 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8380 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8381 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8384 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8385 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8386 Repair a broken attribution line.
8387 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8390 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8392 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8393 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8396 @kindex W w (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8398 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8400 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8404 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8405 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8406 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8409 @kindex W C (Summary)
8410 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8411 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8412 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8415 @kindex W c (Summary)
8416 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8417 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8418 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8419 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8420 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8423 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8425 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8426 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8427 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8428 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8429 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8431 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8434 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8435 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8436 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8437 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8438 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8441 @kindex W u (Summary)
8442 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8443 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8444 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8445 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8446 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8449 @kindex W h (Summary)
8450 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8451 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8452 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8453 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8455 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8457 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8458 The default is to use the function specified by
8459 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8460 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8461 @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8462 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8470 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8474 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8477 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8480 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8485 @kindex W b (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8487 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8488 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8491 @kindex W B (Summary)
8492 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8493 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8494 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8497 @kindex W p (Summary)
8498 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8499 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8500 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8501 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8502 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8503 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8504 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8507 @kindex W s (Summary)
8508 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8509 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8510 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8513 @kindex W a (Summary)
8514 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8515 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8516 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8519 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8520 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8521 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8522 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8525 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8527 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8528 lines with a single empty line.
8529 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8532 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8533 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8534 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8535 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8538 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8540 Do all the three commands above
8541 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8544 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8545 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8546 Remove all blank lines
8547 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8550 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8551 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8552 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8553 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8556 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8557 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8558 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8559 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8563 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8566 @node Article Header
8567 @subsection Article Header
8569 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8574 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8576 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8579 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8580 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8581 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8582 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8585 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8586 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8587 Fold all the message headers
8588 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8592 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8593 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8594 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8599 @node Article Buttons
8600 @subsection Article Buttons
8603 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8604 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8605 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8606 button on these references.
8608 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8609 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8610 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8611 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8612 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8616 @item gnus-button-alist
8617 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8618 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8621 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8627 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8628 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8629 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8630 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8631 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8634 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8635 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8636 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8639 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8640 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8641 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8642 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8643 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8645 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8648 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8651 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8652 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8656 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8659 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8662 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8663 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8664 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8665 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8666 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8669 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8672 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8674 @subsubheading Related variables and functions
8676 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8677 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8679 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8681 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8682 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8683 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8684 default values of the variables above.
8686 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8688 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8689 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8690 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8691 argument with a string naming the man page.
8693 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8695 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8696 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8697 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8699 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8700 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8701 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8702 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8703 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8704 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8705 a mail address, respectivly. If this variable is set to the symbol
8706 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8707 function will be called with the string as it's only argument. The
8708 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8709 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8710 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8712 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8713 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8714 Function that guesses whether it's argument is a message ID or a mail
8715 address. Returns @code{mid} it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if it's a
8716 mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the string is
8719 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8720 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8721 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8722 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8724 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8726 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8727 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8728 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8729 argument, the string naming the URL.
8732 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8733 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8734 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8738 @item gnus-article-button-face
8739 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8740 Face used on buttons.
8742 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8743 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8744 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8748 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8751 @node Article Button Levels
8752 @subsection Article button levels
8753 @cindex button levels
8754 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8755 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8756 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8757 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8758 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8759 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8760 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8761 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8764 ;; increase `gnus-button-*-level' in some groups:
8765 (setq gnus-parameters
8766 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8767 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8768 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8773 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8774 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8775 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8776 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8777 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8778 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8780 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8781 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8782 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8783 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8784 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8785 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8786 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8787 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8788 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8789 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8790 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8791 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8792 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8794 @item gnus-button-man-level
8795 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8796 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8797 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8799 @item gnus-button-message-level
8800 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8801 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8802 Related variables and functions include
8803 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8804 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8805 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8806 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8808 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8809 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8810 Controls the display of references to TeX or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8811 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8812 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8813 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8814 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8820 @subsection Article Date
8822 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8823 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8824 when the article was sent.
8829 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8830 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8831 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8832 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8835 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8836 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8838 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8839 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8842 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8843 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8844 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8847 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8848 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8849 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8850 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8853 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8854 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8855 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8856 @findex format-time-string
8857 Display the date using a user-defined format
8858 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8859 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8860 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8861 for a list of possible format specs.
8864 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8865 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8866 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8867 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8868 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8869 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8872 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8875 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8876 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8877 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8880 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8881 into wonderful absurdities.
8883 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8886 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8889 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8890 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8894 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8895 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8896 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8897 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8898 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8899 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8900 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8904 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8905 preferred format automatically.
8908 @node Article Display
8909 @subsection Article Display
8914 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8915 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8917 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8918 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8920 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8921 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8923 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8924 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8926 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8931 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8932 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8933 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8934 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8937 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8938 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8939 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8940 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8943 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8944 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8945 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8948 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8949 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8950 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8953 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8954 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8955 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8956 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8959 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8960 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8961 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8962 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8965 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8966 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8967 Remove all images from the article buffer
8968 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8974 @node Article Signature
8975 @subsection Article Signature
8977 @cindex article signature
8979 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8980 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8981 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8982 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8983 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8984 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8985 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8986 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8987 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8990 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8991 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8992 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8993 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8994 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8995 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8996 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8997 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
9000 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9003 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9004 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9005 signature when displaying articles.
9009 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9012 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9015 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9016 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9018 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9019 in question is not a signature.
9022 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9023 listed above. Here's an example:
9026 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9027 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9030 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9031 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9032 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9033 signature after all.
9036 @node Article Miscellania
9037 @subsection Article Miscellania
9041 @kindex A t (Summary)
9042 @findex gnus-article-babel
9043 Translate the article from one language to another
9044 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9050 @section MIME Commands
9051 @cindex MIME decoding
9053 @cindex viewing attachments
9055 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9056 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
9062 @kindex K v (Summary)
9063 View the @sc{mime} part.
9066 @kindex K o (Summary)
9067 Save the @sc{mime} part.
9070 @kindex K c (Summary)
9071 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
9074 @kindex K e (Summary)
9075 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
9078 @kindex K i (Summary)
9079 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
9082 @kindex K | (Summary)
9083 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
9086 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9091 @kindex K b (Summary)
9092 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9093 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9097 @kindex K m (Summary)
9098 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9099 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9100 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9101 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9102 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9105 @kindex X m (Summary)
9106 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9107 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
9108 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9109 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9112 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9113 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9114 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9115 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9118 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9119 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9120 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9121 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9124 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9125 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9126 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9127 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9129 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9130 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9131 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9132 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9133 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9134 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9137 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9138 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9139 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
9140 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9147 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9148 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9149 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9150 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9153 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9156 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9160 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9161 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9162 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9163 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9164 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9165 default is @code{nil}.
9167 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9168 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9169 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9170 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9171 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9172 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9173 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9175 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9176 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9177 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9178 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9179 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9180 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9181 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9182 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9184 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9185 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9186 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9187 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9188 displayed. This variable overrides
9189 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9190 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9193 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9194 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9195 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9197 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9198 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9199 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9200 value is @code{nil}.
9202 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9203 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9204 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9205 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9206 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9207 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9208 save all jpegs into some directory).
9210 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9213 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9214 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9216 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9217 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9218 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9219 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9220 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9223 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9224 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9225 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9227 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9228 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9229 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9230 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9232 Ready-made functions include@*
9233 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9234 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9235 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9236 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9237 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9238 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9239 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9240 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9241 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9242 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9243 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9244 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9246 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9247 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9249 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9250 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9251 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9254 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9255 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9256 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9257 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9261 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9270 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9271 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9272 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9273 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9274 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9275 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9276 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9278 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9279 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9280 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9281 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9283 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9284 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9285 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9286 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9287 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9288 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9289 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9290 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9291 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9293 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9294 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9295 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9296 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9297 quoted-printable header encoding.
9299 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9300 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9301 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9305 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9308 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9309 means encode all charsets),
9311 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9312 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9313 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9320 @cindex coding system aliases
9321 @cindex preferred charset
9323 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9325 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9326 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9329 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9330 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9333 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9334 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9336 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9339 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9342 This will almost do the right thing.
9344 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9348 (codepage-setup 1251)
9349 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9353 @node Article Commands
9354 @section Article Commands
9361 @kindex A P (Summary)
9362 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9363 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9364 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9365 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9366 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9367 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9372 @node Summary Sorting
9373 @section Summary Sorting
9374 @cindex summary sorting
9376 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9377 can't really see why you'd want that.
9382 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9383 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9384 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9387 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9388 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9389 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9392 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9393 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9394 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9397 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9398 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9399 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9402 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9403 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9404 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9407 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9408 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9409 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9412 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9413 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9414 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9417 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9418 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9419 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9422 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9423 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9424 Sort using the default sorting method
9425 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9428 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9429 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9430 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9431 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9432 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9436 @node Finding the Parent
9437 @section Finding the Parent
9438 @cindex parent articles
9439 @cindex referring articles
9444 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9445 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9446 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9447 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9448 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9449 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9450 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9451 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9452 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9454 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9455 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9456 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9457 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9458 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9462 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9463 @kindex A R (Summary)
9464 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9465 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9468 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9469 @kindex A T (Summary)
9470 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9471 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9472 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9473 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9474 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9475 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9476 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9478 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9479 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9480 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9481 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9482 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9483 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9486 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9487 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9489 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9490 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9491 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9492 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9493 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9494 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9495 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9498 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9499 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9500 by giving this command a prefix.
9502 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9503 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9504 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9505 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9506 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9507 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9510 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9511 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9512 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9515 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9516 then ask Google if that fails:
9519 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9521 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9524 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9525 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9526 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9527 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9528 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9529 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9530 support this at all.
9533 @node Alternative Approaches
9534 @section Alternative Approaches
9536 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9537 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9540 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9541 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9546 @subsection Pick and Read
9547 @cindex pick and read
9549 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9550 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9551 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9552 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9554 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9555 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9556 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9557 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9558 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9559 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9561 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9566 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9567 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9568 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9569 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9570 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9571 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9572 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9573 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9576 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9577 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9578 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9579 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9583 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9584 Unpick the thread or article
9585 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9586 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9587 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9588 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9589 the thread or article at that line.
9593 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9594 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9595 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9596 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9597 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9598 will still be visible when you are reading.
9602 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9603 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9604 which is mapped to the same function
9605 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9607 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9610 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9613 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9614 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9616 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9617 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9618 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9620 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9621 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9622 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9623 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9624 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9625 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9626 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9630 @subsection Binary Groups
9631 @cindex binary groups
9633 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9634 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9635 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9636 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9637 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9638 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9639 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9642 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9643 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9644 command, when you have turned on this mode
9645 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9647 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9648 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9652 @section Tree Display
9655 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9656 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9657 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9658 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9661 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9664 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9665 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9666 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9668 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9669 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9670 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9671 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9672 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9674 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9675 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9676 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9677 default is @code{modeline}.
9679 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9680 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9681 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9682 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9683 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9684 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9685 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9691 The name of the poster.
9693 The @code{From} header.
9695 The number of the article.
9697 The opening bracket.
9699 The closing bracket.
9704 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9706 Variables related to the display are:
9709 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9710 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9711 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9712 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9713 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9714 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9716 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9717 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9718 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9719 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9723 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9724 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9725 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9726 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9727 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9728 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9729 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9730 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9731 other windows displayed next to it.
9733 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9737 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9738 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9741 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9742 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9743 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9744 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9745 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9746 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9747 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9751 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9754 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9764 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9768 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9769 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9771 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9773 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9778 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9779 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9780 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9783 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9784 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9785 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9786 (gnus-add-configuration
9790 (summary 0.75 point)
9795 @xref{Window Layout}.
9798 @node Mail Group Commands
9799 @section Mail Group Commands
9800 @cindex mail group commands
9802 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9803 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9805 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9806 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9811 @kindex B e (Summary)
9812 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9813 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9814 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9815 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9816 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9819 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9820 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9821 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9822 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9823 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9824 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9827 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9828 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9829 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9830 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9831 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9832 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9835 @kindex B m (Summary)
9837 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9838 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9839 Move the article from one mail group to another
9840 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9841 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9844 @kindex B c (Summary)
9846 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9847 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9848 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9849 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9850 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9853 @kindex B B (Summary)
9854 @cindex crosspost mail
9855 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9856 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9857 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9858 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9859 be properly updated.
9862 @kindex B i (Summary)
9863 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9864 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9865 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9866 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9869 @kindex B I (Summary)
9870 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9871 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9872 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9873 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9876 @kindex B r (Summary)
9877 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9878 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9879 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9880 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9881 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9882 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9883 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9884 (which is the default).
9888 @kindex B w (Summary)
9890 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9891 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9892 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9893 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9894 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9895 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9896 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9899 @kindex B q (Summary)
9900 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9901 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9902 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9903 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9906 @kindex B t (Summary)
9907 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9908 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9909 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9912 @kindex B p (Summary)
9913 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9914 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9915 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9916 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9917 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9918 article from your news server (or rather, from
9919 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9920 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9921 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9922 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9923 just not have arrived yet.
9926 @kindex K E (Summary)
9927 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9928 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9929 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9930 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9931 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9935 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9936 @cindex moving articles
9937 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9938 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9939 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9940 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9941 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9942 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9943 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9946 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9947 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9948 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9949 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9953 @node Various Summary Stuff
9954 @section Various Summary Stuff
9957 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9958 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9959 * Summary Generation Commands::
9960 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9964 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9965 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9966 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9967 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9968 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9969 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9971 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9972 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9973 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9975 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9976 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9977 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9978 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9979 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9980 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9983 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9984 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9985 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9986 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9987 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9989 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9990 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9991 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9994 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9995 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9996 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9997 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9998 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9999 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10000 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10001 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10002 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10003 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10005 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10006 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10007 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10008 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10009 list of articles to be selected.
10011 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10012 the list in one particular group:
10015 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10016 (if (string= group "some.group")
10017 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10021 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10022 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10023 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10024 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10025 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
10026 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10027 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10028 buffers. For example:
10031 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10032 '(message-use-followup-to
10033 (gnus-visible-headers .
10034 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10040 @node Summary Group Information
10041 @subsection Summary Group Information
10046 @kindex H f (Summary)
10047 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10048 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10049 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
10050 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
10051 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
10052 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
10053 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
10054 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
10055 be used for fetching the file.
10058 @kindex H d (Summary)
10059 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10060 Give a brief description of the current group
10061 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10062 rereading the description from the server.
10065 @kindex H h (Summary)
10066 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10067 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10068 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10071 @kindex H i (Summary)
10072 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10073 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10077 @node Searching for Articles
10078 @subsection Searching for Articles
10083 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10084 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10085 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10086 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10089 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10090 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10091 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10092 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10095 @kindex & (Summary)
10096 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10097 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10098 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10099 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10100 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10101 search backward instead.
10103 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
10104 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10107 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10108 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10109 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10110 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10113 @node Summary Generation Commands
10114 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10119 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10120 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10121 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10124 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10125 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10126 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10127 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10130 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10131 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10132 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10133 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10138 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10139 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10145 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10146 @kindex A D (Summary)
10147 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10148 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10149 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10150 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10151 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10152 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10153 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10154 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10158 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10159 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10160 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10161 several documents into one biiig group
10162 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10163 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10164 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10165 command understands the process/prefix convention
10166 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10169 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10170 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10171 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10172 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10173 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10174 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10177 @kindex = (Summary)
10178 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10179 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10180 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10183 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10184 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10185 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10186 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10189 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10190 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10191 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10192 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10197 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10198 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10199 @cindex summary exit
10200 @cindex exiting groups
10202 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10203 group and return you to the group buffer.
10209 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10210 @kindex q (Summary)
10211 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10212 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10213 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10214 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10215 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10216 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10217 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10218 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10219 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10220 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10221 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10222 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10226 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10227 @kindex Q (Summary)
10228 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10229 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10230 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10234 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10235 @kindex c (Summary)
10236 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10237 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10238 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10239 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10242 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10243 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10244 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10245 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10248 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10249 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10250 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10251 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10254 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10255 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10256 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10257 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10258 all articles, both read and unread.
10262 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10263 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10264 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10265 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10266 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10267 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10268 articles, both read and unread.
10271 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10272 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10273 Exit the group and go to the next group
10274 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10277 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10278 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10279 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10280 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10283 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10284 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10285 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10286 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10287 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10288 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10291 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10292 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10293 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10294 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10296 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10297 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10298 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10299 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10300 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10301 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10302 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10303 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10304 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10305 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10306 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10307 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10309 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10311 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10312 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10313 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10314 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10315 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10316 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10317 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10318 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10319 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10322 @node Crosspost Handling
10323 @section Crosspost Handling
10327 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10328 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10329 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10330 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10331 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10332 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10335 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10336 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10337 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10338 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10339 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10341 @cindex cross-posting
10344 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10345 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10346 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10347 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10348 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10349 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10350 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10351 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10352 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10353 the cross reference mechanism.
10355 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10356 @cindex overview.fmt
10357 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10358 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10359 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10360 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10361 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10362 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10365 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10366 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10367 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10372 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10375 @node Duplicate Suppression
10376 @section Duplicate Suppression
10378 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10379 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10380 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10381 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10386 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10387 is evil and not very common.
10390 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10391 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10394 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10395 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10398 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10401 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10402 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10404 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10405 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10406 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10407 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10408 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10409 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10410 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10413 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10414 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10415 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10416 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10417 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10418 saw the article in.
10421 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10422 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10423 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10425 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10426 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10427 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10428 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10429 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10430 session are suppressed.
10432 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10433 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10434 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10435 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10437 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10438 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10439 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10440 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10443 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10444 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10445 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10446 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10447 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10448 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10449 to you to figure out, I think.
10454 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10455 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10456 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10460 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10461 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10462 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10463 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10466 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10467 or newer is recommended.
10471 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10472 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10475 @item mm-verify-option
10476 @vindex mm-verify-option
10477 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10478 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10479 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10481 @item mm-decrypt-option
10482 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10483 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10484 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10485 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10488 @vindex mml1991-use
10489 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10490 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10491 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10494 @vindex mml2015-use
10495 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10496 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10497 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10501 @cindex snarfing keys
10502 @cindex importing PGP keys
10503 @cindex PGP key ring import
10504 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10505 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10506 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10507 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10508 through the usual MIME infrastructure. You can use a
10509 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10510 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10511 Privacy Guard when you click on the MIME button (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10514 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10517 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10518 @var{mailcap-mime-data}.
10521 @section Mailing List
10523 @kindex A M (summary)
10524 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10525 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10526 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10527 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10530 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10535 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10536 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10537 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10540 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10541 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10542 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10545 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10546 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10547 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10551 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10552 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10553 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10556 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10557 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10558 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10561 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10562 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10563 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10568 @node Article Buffer
10569 @chapter Article Buffer
10570 @cindex article buffer
10572 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10573 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10574 tell gnus otherwise.
10577 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10578 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10579 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10580 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10581 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10585 @node Hiding Headers
10586 @section Hiding Headers
10587 @cindex hiding headers
10588 @cindex deleting headers
10590 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10591 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10593 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10594 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10595 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10596 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10597 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10598 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10599 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10600 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10601 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10603 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10607 @item gnus-visible-headers
10608 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10609 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10610 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10611 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10613 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10614 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10617 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10620 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10623 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10624 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10625 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10626 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10627 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10628 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10630 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10631 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10634 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10637 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10640 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10641 variable will have no effect.
10645 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10646 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10647 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10648 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10649 the headers are to be displayed.
10651 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10652 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10655 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10658 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10659 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10661 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10662 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10663 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10664 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10665 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10666 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10667 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10670 These conditions are:
10673 Remove all empty headers.
10675 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10676 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10678 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10679 @code{From} header.
10681 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10684 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10685 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10687 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10688 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10690 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10691 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10693 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10696 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10698 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10701 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10704 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10705 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10708 This is also the default value for this variable.
10712 @section Using MIME
10715 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10716 while people stand around yawning.
10718 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10719 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10721 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10722 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10723 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10725 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10726 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10727 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10728 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10729 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10730 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10731 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10732 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10733 not existed yet, sorry).
10735 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10736 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10737 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10738 These can't be avoided.
10740 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10741 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10742 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10743 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10744 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10745 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10746 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10747 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10748 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10751 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10753 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10754 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10755 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10756 buffer when there are nobody else.
10758 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10761 @node Customizing Articles
10762 @section Customizing Articles
10763 @cindex article customization
10765 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10766 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10767 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10768 called automatically when you select the articles.
10770 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10771 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10772 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10773 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10775 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10776 for sensible values.
10780 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10783 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10786 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10789 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10792 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10796 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10797 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10798 regexps in the list.
10801 A list where the first element is not a string:
10803 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10804 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10805 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10809 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10813 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10818 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10819 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10820 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10821 considered to contain just a single part.
10823 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10824 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10825 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10826 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10827 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10828 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10829 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10831 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10832 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10833 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10834 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10837 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10838 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10840 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10842 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10843 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10844 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10845 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10846 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10847 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10848 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10849 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10850 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10851 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10852 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10854 @xref{Article Washing}.
10856 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10857 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10858 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10859 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10860 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10861 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10862 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10864 @xref{Article Date}.
10866 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10867 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10868 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10872 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10874 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10876 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10877 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10878 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10882 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10886 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10887 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10888 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10889 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10890 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10891 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10892 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10893 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10894 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
10895 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
10897 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10899 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10900 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10901 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10903 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10905 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10906 @item gnus-treat-translate
10907 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10909 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10910 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10911 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10912 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10914 @xref{Article Header}.
10919 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10920 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10921 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10922 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10923 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10927 @node Article Keymap
10928 @section Article Keymap
10930 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10931 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10932 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10933 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10936 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10941 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10942 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10943 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10944 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
10947 @kindex DEL (Article)
10948 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10949 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10950 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
10953 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10954 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10955 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10956 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10957 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10960 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10961 @findex gnus-article-mail
10962 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10963 given a prefix, include the mail.
10966 @kindex s (Article)
10967 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10968 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10969 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10972 @kindex ? (Article)
10973 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10974 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10975 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10978 @kindex TAB (Article)
10979 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10980 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10981 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10984 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10985 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10986 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10989 @kindex R (Article)
10990 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10991 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10992 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10993 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10997 @kindex F (Article)
10998 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10999 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11000 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11001 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11009 @section Misc Article
11013 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11014 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11015 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11016 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11019 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11020 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11022 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
11023 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11025 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11026 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11027 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11028 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11029 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11030 the contents of the article buffer.
11032 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11033 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11034 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11036 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11037 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11038 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11039 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11041 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11042 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11043 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11044 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11046 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11047 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11048 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11049 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11050 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11056 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11057 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11058 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11063 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11066 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11069 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11070 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11071 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11074 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11077 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11080 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11085 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
11089 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11091 @item gnus-break-pages
11092 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11093 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11094 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11095 paging will not be done.
11097 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11098 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11099 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11103 @cindex internationalized domain names
11104 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11105 @item gnus-use-idna
11106 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11107 internationalized domain names inside @sc{From:}, @sc{To:} and
11108 @sc{Cc:} headers. This requires GNU Libidn
11109 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}, and this variable is only
11110 enabled if you have installed it.
11115 @node Composing Messages
11116 @chapter Composing Messages
11117 @cindex composing messages
11120 @cindex sending mail
11125 @cindex using s/mime
11126 @cindex using smime
11128 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11129 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11130 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11131 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11132 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11133 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11136 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11137 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11138 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11139 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11140 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11141 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11142 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11143 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11146 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11147 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11153 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11156 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11157 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11158 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11159 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11160 @code{nil} include all headers.
11162 @item gnus-add-to-list
11163 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11164 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11165 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11167 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11168 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11169 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11170 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11171 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11172 confirmation is should be asked for.
11174 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11175 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11177 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11178 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11179 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11180 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11181 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11186 @node Posting Server
11187 @section Posting Server
11189 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11190 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11192 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11194 It can be quite complicated.
11196 @vindex gnus-post-method
11197 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11198 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11199 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11200 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11201 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11202 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11203 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11204 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11205 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11208 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11211 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11212 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11213 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11214 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11216 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11217 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11219 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11220 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11223 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11224 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11226 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11227 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11228 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11229 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11230 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11231 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11232 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11233 package correctly. An example:
11236 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11237 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11238 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11239 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11240 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11243 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11244 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11245 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11247 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11248 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11249 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11251 @node Mail and Post
11252 @section Mail and Post
11254 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11258 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11259 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11260 @cindex mailing lists
11262 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11263 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11264 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11265 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11266 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11267 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11268 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11269 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11270 still a pain, though.
11272 @item gnus-user-agent
11273 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11276 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11277 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11278 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11279 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11280 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11281 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11282 use a valid format, see RFC 2616."
11286 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11287 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11288 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11291 @findex ispell-message
11293 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11296 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11297 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11300 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11304 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11305 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11307 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11310 Modify to suit your needs.
11313 @node Archived Messages
11314 @section Archived Messages
11315 @cindex archived messages
11316 @cindex sent messages
11318 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11319 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11320 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11321 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11324 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11325 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11328 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11329 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11330 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11333 (nnfolder "archive"
11334 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11335 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11336 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11337 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11340 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11341 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11342 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11343 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11346 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11347 '(nnfolder "archive"
11348 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11349 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11350 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11353 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11355 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11356 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11357 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11359 This variable can be used to do the following:
11364 Messages will be saved in that group.
11366 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11367 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11368 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11369 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11370 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11371 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11372 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11373 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11377 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11379 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11380 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11383 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11388 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11390 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11393 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11395 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11398 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11400 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11401 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11402 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11403 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11406 More complex stuff:
11408 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11409 '((if (message-news-p)
11414 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11415 messages in one file per month:
11418 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11419 '((if (message-news-p)
11421 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11424 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11425 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11427 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11428 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11429 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11430 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11431 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11432 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11433 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11434 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11435 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11436 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11438 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11439 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11440 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11441 this will disable archiving.
11444 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11445 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11446 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11447 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11448 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11451 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11452 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11453 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11456 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11457 but the latter is the preferred method.
11459 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11460 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11461 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11463 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11464 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11465 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11466 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11467 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11468 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11469 changed in the future.
11474 @node Posting Styles
11475 @section Posting Styles
11476 @cindex posting styles
11479 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11481 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11482 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11483 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11486 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11487 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11488 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11489 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11490 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11495 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11496 (organization "What me?"))
11498 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11499 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11500 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11503 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11504 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11505 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11506 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11507 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11508 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11509 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11510 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11512 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11513 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11514 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11515 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11516 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11517 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11518 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11519 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11520 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11521 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11522 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11523 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11524 said to @dfn{match}.
11526 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11527 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11528 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11529 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11530 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11531 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11532 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11533 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11534 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11535 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11538 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11539 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11540 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11541 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11542 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11543 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11544 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11545 references chars lines xref extra.
11547 @vindex message-reply-headers
11549 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11550 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11551 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11553 @findex message-mail-p
11554 @findex message-news-p
11556 So here's a new example:
11559 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11561 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11563 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11564 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11566 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11567 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11568 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11569 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11570 (signature my-news-signature))
11571 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11572 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11573 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11574 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11575 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11576 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11577 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11578 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11579 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11580 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11582 (From (save-excursion
11583 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11584 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11586 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11589 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11590 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11591 if you fill many roles.
11593 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11594 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11595 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11596 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11597 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11598 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11599 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11600 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11605 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11607 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11609 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11610 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11613 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11616 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11617 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11624 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11625 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11626 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11627 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11628 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11630 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11631 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11632 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11633 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11634 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11638 @vindex nndraft-directory
11639 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11640 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11641 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11642 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11643 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11644 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11646 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11647 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11648 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11649 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11650 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11651 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11652 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11653 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11654 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11656 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11657 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11658 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11659 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11660 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11661 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11662 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11663 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11664 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11665 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11666 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11667 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11668 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11669 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11671 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11672 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11673 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11675 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11676 @kindex D e (Draft)
11677 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11678 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11679 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11681 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11684 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11685 @kindex D s (Draft)
11686 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11687 @kindex D S (Draft)
11688 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11689 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11690 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11691 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11692 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11695 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11696 @kindex D t (Draft)
11697 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11698 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11699 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11702 @node Rejected Articles
11703 @section Rejected Articles
11704 @cindex rejected articles
11706 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11707 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11708 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11709 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11711 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11712 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11713 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11714 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11715 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11717 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11718 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11719 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11721 @node Signing and encrypting
11722 @section Signing and encrypting
11724 @cindex using s/mime
11725 @cindex using smime
11727 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11728 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11729 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11730 (@pxref{Security}).
11732 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11733 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11734 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11735 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11736 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11737 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11738 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11739 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11740 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11741 automatically encrypted messages.
11743 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11744 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11745 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11750 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11751 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11753 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11756 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11757 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11759 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11762 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11763 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11765 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11768 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11769 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11771 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11774 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11775 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11777 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11780 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11781 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11783 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11786 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11787 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11788 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11792 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11794 @node Select Methods
11795 @chapter Select Methods
11796 @cindex foreign groups
11797 @cindex select methods
11799 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11800 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11801 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11802 personal mail group.
11804 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11805 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11806 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11807 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11808 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11809 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11811 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11812 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11814 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11817 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11818 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11819 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11820 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11821 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11823 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11826 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11827 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11828 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11829 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11830 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11831 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11832 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11833 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11837 @node Server Buffer
11838 @section Server Buffer
11840 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11841 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11842 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11843 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11844 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11845 back end represents a virtual server.
11847 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11848 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11849 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11850 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11852 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11853 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11854 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11855 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11856 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11857 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11858 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11860 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11861 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11864 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11865 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11866 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11867 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11868 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11869 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11870 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11873 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11874 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11877 @node Server Buffer Format
11878 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11879 @cindex server buffer format
11881 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11882 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11883 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11884 variable, with some simple extensions:
11889 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11892 The name of this server.
11895 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11898 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11901 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11902 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11903 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11904 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11914 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11917 @node Server Commands
11918 @subsection Server Commands
11919 @cindex server commands
11925 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11926 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11930 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11931 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11934 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11935 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11936 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11940 @findex gnus-server-exit
11941 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11945 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11946 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11950 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11951 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11955 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11956 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11960 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11961 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11965 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11966 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11967 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11972 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11973 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11974 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11975 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11980 @node Example Methods
11981 @subsection Example Methods
11983 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11986 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11989 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11995 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11996 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11999 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12000 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12002 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12003 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12007 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12010 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12011 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12013 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12014 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12015 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12019 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12022 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12025 Here's the method for a public spool:
12029 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12030 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12036 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
12037 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12038 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
12039 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12040 should probably look something like this:
12044 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12045 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12046 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12047 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12050 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12051 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12052 configuration to the example above:
12055 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12058 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12060 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12061 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12062 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12066 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12067 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12068 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12069 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12072 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12073 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12074 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12075 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12078 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12079 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12081 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12082 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12084 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12085 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
12086 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12088 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
12090 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
12091 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12092 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12093 will contain the following:
12103 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
12104 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
12105 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12108 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12109 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12110 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12113 @node Server Variables
12114 @subsection Server Variables
12116 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12117 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12118 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12119 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12120 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12122 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12123 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12124 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12125 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12126 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12127 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12128 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12129 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12130 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12134 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12135 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12136 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12140 @node Servers and Methods
12141 @subsection Servers and Methods
12143 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12144 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12145 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12146 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12150 @node Unavailable Servers
12151 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12153 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12154 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12155 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12156 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12157 actually the case or not.
12159 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12160 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12161 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12162 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12163 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12164 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12165 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12166 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12168 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12169 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12171 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12172 with the following commands:
12178 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12179 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12180 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12184 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12185 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12186 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12190 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12191 Mark the current server as unreachable
12192 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12195 @kindex M-o (Server)
12196 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12197 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12198 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12201 @kindex M-c (Server)
12202 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12203 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12204 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12208 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12209 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12210 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12214 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12215 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12221 @section Getting News
12222 @cindex reading news
12223 @cindex news back ends
12225 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12226 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12227 or it can read from a local spool.
12230 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12231 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12239 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12240 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12241 server as the, uhm, address.
12243 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12244 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12245 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12246 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12248 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12249 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12250 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12252 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12257 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12258 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12259 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12261 @cindex authentification
12262 @cindex nntp authentification
12263 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12264 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12265 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12266 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12267 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12268 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12269 present in this hook.
12271 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12272 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12273 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12274 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12275 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12276 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12277 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12278 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12279 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12280 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12281 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12282 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12286 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12289 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12291 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12292 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12293 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12294 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12295 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12296 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12297 @samp{force} is explained below.
12301 Here's an example file:
12304 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12305 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12308 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12309 have to be first, for instance.
12311 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12312 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12313 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12314 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12315 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12316 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12317 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12319 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12320 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12326 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12327 previously mentioned.
12329 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12331 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12332 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12333 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12334 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12335 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12338 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12339 '(("innd" (ding))))
12342 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12344 The default value is
12347 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12348 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12349 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12352 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12353 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12355 @item nntp-maximum-request
12356 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12357 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12358 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12359 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12360 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12361 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12362 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12364 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12365 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12366 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12367 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12368 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12369 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12370 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12371 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12372 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12373 no timeouts are done.
12375 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12376 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12377 @c @cindex PPP connections
12378 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12379 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12380 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12381 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12382 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12383 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12384 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12385 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12386 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12387 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12389 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12390 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12391 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12392 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12393 @c described above.
12395 @item nntp-server-hook
12396 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12397 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12400 @item nntp-buggy-select
12401 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12402 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12404 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12405 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12406 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12407 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12410 @item nntp-xover-commands
12411 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12414 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12415 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12419 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12420 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12421 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12422 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12423 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12424 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12425 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12426 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12427 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12428 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12429 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12431 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12432 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12433 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12435 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12436 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12437 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12438 server closes connection.
12440 @item nntp-record-commands
12441 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12442 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12443 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12444 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12445 that doesn't seem to work.
12447 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12448 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12449 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12450 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12451 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12452 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12453 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12454 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12456 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12457 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12458 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12459 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12460 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12461 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12462 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12465 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12468 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12469 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12471 @item nntp-read-timeout
12472 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12473 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12474 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12475 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12476 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12479 @item nntp-list-options
12480 @vindex nntp-list-options
12481 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12482 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12483 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12484 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12485 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12489 (setq gnus-select-method
12490 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12491 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12494 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12495 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12496 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12497 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12498 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12499 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12500 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12503 (setq gnus-select-method
12504 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12505 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12508 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12509 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12510 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12511 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12512 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12513 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12514 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12517 (setq gnus-select-method
12518 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12519 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12524 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12525 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12526 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12530 @node Direct Functions
12531 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12532 @cindex direct connection functions
12534 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12535 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12536 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12537 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12540 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12541 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12542 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12545 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12546 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12547 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12548 this you must have GNUTLS installed (see
12549 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}). You then define a server
12553 ;; "nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12554 ;; however, gnutls-cli -p doesn't like named ports.
12556 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12557 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12558 (nntp-port-number )
12559 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12562 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12563 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12564 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
12565 you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12566 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}. You then
12567 define a server as follows:
12570 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12571 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports.
12573 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12574 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12575 (nntp-port-number 563)
12576 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12579 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12580 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12581 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12582 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12583 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12584 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12585 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12586 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12590 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12591 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12592 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12595 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12596 session, which is not a good idea.
12600 @node Indirect Functions
12601 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12602 @cindex indirect connection functions
12604 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12605 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12606 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12607 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12608 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12609 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12612 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12613 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12614 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12615 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12616 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12618 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12621 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12622 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12623 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12624 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12626 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12627 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12628 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12629 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12630 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12631 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12632 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12633 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12637 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12638 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12639 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12640 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12642 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12645 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12646 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12647 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12650 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12651 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12652 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12653 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12655 @item nntp-via-user-password
12656 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12657 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12659 @item nntp-via-envuser
12660 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12661 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12662 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12663 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12665 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12666 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12667 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12668 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12675 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12680 @item nntp-via-user-name
12681 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12682 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12684 @item nntp-via-address
12685 @vindex nntp-via-address
12686 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12691 @node Common Variables
12692 @subsubsection Common Variables
12694 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12695 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12700 @item nntp-pre-command
12701 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12702 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12703 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12704 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12705 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12708 @vindex nntp-address
12709 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12711 @item nntp-port-number
12712 @vindex nntp-port-number
12713 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is
12714 @samp{nntp}. If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{tls}/@sc{ssl}, you may
12715 want to use integer ports rather than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563}
12716 instead of @samp{snews} or @samp{nntps}), because external TLS/SSL
12717 tools may not work with named ports.
12719 @item nntp-end-of-line
12720 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12721 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12722 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12723 using a non native connection function.
12725 @item nntp-telnet-command
12726 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12727 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12728 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12729 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12731 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12732 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12733 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12740 @subsection News Spool
12744 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12745 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12746 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12749 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12750 anything else) as the address.
12752 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12753 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12754 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12755 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12759 @item nnspool-inews-program
12760 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12761 Program used to post an article.
12763 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12764 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12765 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12767 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12768 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12769 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12770 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12772 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12773 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12774 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12775 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12777 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12778 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12779 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12781 @item nnspool-active-file
12782 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12783 The name of the active file.
12785 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12786 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12787 The name of the group descriptions file.
12789 @item nnspool-history-file
12790 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12791 The name of the news history file.
12793 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12794 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12795 The name of the active date file.
12797 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12798 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12799 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12802 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12803 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12805 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12806 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12807 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12813 @section Getting Mail
12814 @cindex reading mail
12817 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12821 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12822 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12823 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12824 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12825 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12826 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12827 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12828 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12829 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12830 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12831 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12832 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12833 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12837 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12838 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12840 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12841 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12842 of a culture shock.
12844 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12845 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12847 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12848 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12849 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12850 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12852 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12854 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12855 deleted? How awful!
12857 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12858 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12859 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12860 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12863 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12864 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12865 they want to treat a message.
12867 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12868 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12869 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12870 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12871 archived somewhere else.
12873 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12874 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12875 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12876 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12877 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12879 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12880 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12881 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12883 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12884 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12887 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12888 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12889 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12890 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12891 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12893 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12894 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12895 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12896 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12897 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12898 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12902 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12903 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12905 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12906 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12907 and things will happen automatically.
12909 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
12910 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12913 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12916 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12917 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12918 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12919 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12920 like any other group.
12922 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12925 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12926 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12927 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12931 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12932 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12933 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12936 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12937 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12938 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12941 @node Splitting Mail
12942 @subsection Splitting Mail
12943 @cindex splitting mail
12944 @cindex mail splitting
12946 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12947 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12948 to be split into groups.
12951 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12952 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12953 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12954 ("mail.other" "")))
12957 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12958 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12959 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12960 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12961 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12962 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12963 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12966 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12969 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12970 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12971 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12972 mail belongs in that group.
12974 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12975 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
12976 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12977 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12978 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
12979 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
12981 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12982 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12983 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12984 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12985 thinks should carry this mail message.
12987 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12988 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12989 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12990 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12992 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12993 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12994 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12995 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12996 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
12998 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13001 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13002 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13003 links. If that's the case for you, set
13004 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13005 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13007 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13008 @kindex nnmail-split-history
13009 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13010 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13011 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13012 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13015 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13016 Header lines longer than the value of
13017 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13020 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13021 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13022 By default the splitting codes @sc{mime} decodes headers so you can match
13023 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
13024 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
13025 can be turned off completely by binding
13026 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
13027 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13029 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13030 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
13031 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
13032 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
13033 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13034 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
13035 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
13038 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13039 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13040 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13041 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13042 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13043 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13044 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13045 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13046 month's rent money.
13050 @subsection Mail Sources
13052 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
13053 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
13057 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13058 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13059 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13063 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13064 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13066 @cindex mail server
13069 @cindex mail source
13071 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13072 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13077 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13080 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13081 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13082 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13085 The following mail source types are available:
13089 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13095 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
13096 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13097 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13101 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13104 An example file mail source:
13107 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13110 Or using the default file name:
13116 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
13117 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
13118 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
13121 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13125 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13128 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13132 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13135 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13137 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13140 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13144 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13145 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
13146 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
13147 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
13148 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
13149 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
13150 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13151 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
13152 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
13153 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13155 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13156 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13157 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
13158 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13164 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13168 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13172 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13173 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13174 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13175 predicate are considered.
13179 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13183 An example directory mail source:
13186 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13191 Get mail from a POP server.
13197 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
13198 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13201 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
13202 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13203 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13204 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13205 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13208 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
13212 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
13216 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
13217 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13220 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13223 The valid format specifier characters are:
13227 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13228 included in this string.
13231 The name of the server.
13234 The port number of the server.
13237 The user name to use.
13240 The password to use.
13243 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13244 corresponding keywords.
13247 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13248 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13251 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13252 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13255 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13256 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13259 @item :authentication
13260 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13261 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13265 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13266 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13267 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13268 programs and libraries:
13272 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13273 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13274 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13276 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13277 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13282 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13283 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13287 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13288 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13290 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13291 default user name, and default fetcher:
13297 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13300 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13301 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13304 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13307 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13311 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13312 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13313 contains exactly one mail.
13319 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13320 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13323 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13324 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13326 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13327 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13328 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13331 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13332 from locking problems).
13336 Two example maildir mail sources:
13339 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13340 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13344 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13349 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13350 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13351 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13352 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13355 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, TLS/SSL and STARTTLS support you
13356 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13362 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13363 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13366 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13367 @samp{993} for TLS/SSL connections.
13370 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13374 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13378 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13379 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13380 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13381 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13383 @item :authentication
13384 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13385 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13386 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13387 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13390 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13391 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13392 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13398 The valid format specifier characters are:
13402 The name of the server.
13405 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13408 The port number of the server.
13411 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13412 corresponding keywords.
13415 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13416 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13419 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13420 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13421 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13422 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13423 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13424 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13427 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13428 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13429 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13430 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13433 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13434 after finishing the fetch.
13438 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13441 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13443 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13447 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13448 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13449 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13451 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13452 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13454 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13460 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13461 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13464 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13468 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13472 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13473 folder after finishing the fetch.
13477 An example webmail source:
13480 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13482 :password "secret")
13487 @item Common Keywords
13488 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13494 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13495 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13499 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13504 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13505 useful when you use local mail and news.
13510 @subsubsection Function Interface
13512 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13513 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13514 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13515 consider the following mail-source setting:
13518 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13519 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13522 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13523 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13524 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13525 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13526 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13528 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13531 @node Mail Source Customization
13532 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13534 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13535 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13539 @item mail-source-crash-box
13540 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13541 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13542 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13544 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13545 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13546 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13547 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13548 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13549 (This will only happen, when reveiving new mail). You may also set
13550 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13551 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13553 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13554 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13555 If @code{non-nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13556 files. This variable only applies when
13557 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13559 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13560 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13561 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13563 @item mail-source-directory
13564 @vindex mail-source-directory
13565 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13566 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13567 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13570 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13571 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13572 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13573 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13574 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13575 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13577 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13578 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13579 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13581 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13582 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13583 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13584 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13589 @node Fetching Mail
13590 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13592 @vindex mail-sources
13593 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13594 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13595 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13596 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13598 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13599 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13602 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13603 mail server, you'd say something like:
13608 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13609 :password "secret")))
13612 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13616 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13617 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13620 :password "secret")))
13624 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13625 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13626 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13627 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13628 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13629 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13633 @node Mail Back End Variables
13634 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13636 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13640 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13641 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13642 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13643 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13645 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13646 @item nnmail-split-hook
13647 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13648 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13649 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13650 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13651 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13652 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13653 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13654 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13655 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13658 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13659 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13660 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13661 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13662 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13663 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13664 starting to handle the new mail) and
13665 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13666 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13667 default file modes the new mail files get:
13670 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13671 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13673 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13674 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13677 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13678 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13679 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13680 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13681 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13682 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13683 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13685 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13686 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13687 @findex delete-file
13688 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13690 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13691 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13692 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13693 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13694 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13696 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13697 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13698 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13699 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13700 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13702 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13703 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13704 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13709 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13710 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13711 @cindex mail splitting
13712 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13714 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13715 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13716 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13717 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13718 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13719 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13721 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13724 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13725 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13726 ;; from real errors.
13727 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13729 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13730 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13731 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13732 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13733 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13734 ;; Other mailing lists...
13735 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13736 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13737 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13738 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13739 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13740 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13741 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13742 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13744 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13745 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13749 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13750 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13751 the five possible split syntaxes:
13756 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13757 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13761 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13762 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13763 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13764 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13765 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13766 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13767 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13768 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13771 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13772 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13773 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13774 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13777 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13778 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13781 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13782 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13785 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13786 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13787 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13788 function should return a @var{split}.
13791 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13792 body of the messages:
13795 (defun split-on-body ()
13797 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13798 (goto-char (point-min))
13799 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13803 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13804 when the @code{:} function is run.
13807 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the
13808 first element is @code{!}, then @var{split} will be processed, and
13809 @var{func} will be called as a function with the result of @var{split}
13810 as argument. @var{func} should return a split.
13813 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13817 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13818 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13819 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13820 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13821 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13823 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13824 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13825 are expanded as specified by the variable
13826 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13827 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13830 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13831 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13832 when all this splitting is performed.
13834 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13835 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13836 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13839 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13842 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13843 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13845 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13846 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13847 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13848 groupings 1 through 9.
13850 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13851 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13852 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13853 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13854 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13855 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13856 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13857 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13858 it once per thread.
13860 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13861 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13862 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13865 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13866 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13868 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13869 ;; other splits go here
13873 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13874 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13875 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13876 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13877 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13878 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13879 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13880 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13881 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13882 unless the group name matches the regexp
13883 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13884 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13885 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13886 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13887 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13888 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13889 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13890 messages goes into the new group.
13892 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13893 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13894 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13895 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13896 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13900 @node Group Mail Splitting
13901 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13902 @cindex mail splitting
13903 @cindex group mail splitting
13905 @findex gnus-group-split
13906 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13907 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13908 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13909 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13910 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13911 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13912 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13913 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13915 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13916 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13917 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13918 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13920 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13921 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13922 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13923 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13924 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13925 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13926 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13928 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13929 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13930 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13931 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13932 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13933 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13934 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13936 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13937 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13938 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13939 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13940 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13941 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13942 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13943 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13944 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13945 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13946 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13947 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13948 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13950 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13955 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13956 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13958 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13959 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13960 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13961 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13963 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13966 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13967 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13968 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13971 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13972 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13973 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13977 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13978 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13979 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13983 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13986 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13987 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13988 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13989 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13990 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13991 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13992 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13993 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13994 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13996 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13997 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13998 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13999 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14000 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14001 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14002 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14003 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14004 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14006 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14007 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14008 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14009 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14010 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14011 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14014 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
14017 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14018 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14019 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14020 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14021 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14024 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14025 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14026 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14027 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14029 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14030 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14031 @cindex incorporating old mail
14032 @cindex import old mail
14034 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14035 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14036 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14039 Doing so can be quite easy.
14041 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14042 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14043 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14044 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14045 your @code{nnml} groups.
14051 Go to the group buffer.
14054 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14055 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14058 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14061 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14062 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14065 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14066 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14069 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14070 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14071 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14072 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14073 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14075 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14076 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14077 using the new mail back end.
14080 @node Expiring Mail
14081 @subsection Expiring Mail
14082 @cindex article expiry
14084 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14085 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14086 different approach to mail reading.
14088 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14089 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14090 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14091 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14092 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14093 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14096 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14097 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
14098 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14099 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14100 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14101 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14102 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14103 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14104 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14106 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14107 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
14108 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14109 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
14110 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14111 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14112 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14115 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14116 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14117 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14118 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14119 into its own group.)
14121 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14122 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14123 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14124 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14125 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14126 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14127 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
14128 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14131 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14132 Groups that match the regular expression
14133 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14134 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14135 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14137 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14138 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14139 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14140 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14141 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14143 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14145 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14146 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14147 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14150 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14151 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14152 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14153 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14154 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14156 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14157 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14160 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14161 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14164 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14165 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14167 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14168 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14169 don't really mix very well.
14171 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14172 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14173 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14174 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14177 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14178 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14179 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14180 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14183 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14185 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14187 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14189 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14191 ((string= group "important")
14197 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14198 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14200 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14201 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14202 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14205 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14206 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14208 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14209 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14210 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14211 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14212 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14213 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14214 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14215 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14216 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14217 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14218 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14219 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
14220 name or @code{delete}.
14222 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14224 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14227 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14228 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14229 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14230 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14231 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14234 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14235 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14236 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14237 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14238 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14241 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14242 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14243 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14244 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14245 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14246 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14248 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14249 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14250 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14251 easier for procmail users.
14253 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14254 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14255 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14256 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14257 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14258 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14259 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14260 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14261 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14262 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14263 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14264 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14265 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14268 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14270 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14271 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14272 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14273 auto-expire turned on.
14277 @subsection Washing Mail
14278 @cindex mail washing
14279 @cindex list server brain damage
14280 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14282 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14283 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14284 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14285 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14286 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14287 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14289 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14290 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14291 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14294 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14295 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14296 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14297 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14300 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14301 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14302 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14303 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14304 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14307 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14308 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14309 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14310 Emacs running on MS machines.
14314 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14315 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14316 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14317 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14320 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14321 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14322 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14323 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14325 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14326 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14327 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14328 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14329 into a feature by documenting it.)
14331 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14332 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14333 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14334 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14335 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14336 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14337 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14340 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14341 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14344 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14345 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14348 This can also be done non-destructively with
14349 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14351 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14352 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14353 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14355 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14356 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14358 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14359 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14360 @code{References} headers.
14364 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14365 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14366 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14370 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14371 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14372 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14379 @subsection Duplicates
14381 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14382 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14383 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14384 @cindex duplicate mails
14385 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14386 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14387 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14388 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14389 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14390 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14391 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14392 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14393 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14394 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14395 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14396 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14397 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14399 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14400 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14401 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14402 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14404 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14407 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14408 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14412 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14413 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14414 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14415 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14416 (any mail "mail.misc")
14423 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14424 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14429 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14430 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14431 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14432 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14433 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14436 @node Not Reading Mail
14437 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14439 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14440 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14441 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14443 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14444 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14445 mail, which should help.
14447 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14448 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14449 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14450 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14451 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14452 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14453 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14454 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14455 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14456 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14457 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14459 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14460 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14464 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14465 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14467 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14468 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14469 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14471 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14472 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14473 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14477 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14478 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14479 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14480 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14481 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14482 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14483 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14487 @node Unix Mail Box
14488 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14490 @cindex unix mail box
14492 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14493 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14494 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14495 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14496 which group it belongs in.
14498 Virtual server settings:
14501 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14502 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14503 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14506 @item nnmbox-active-file
14507 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14508 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14509 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14511 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14512 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14513 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14514 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14519 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14523 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14524 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14525 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14526 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14527 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14529 Virtual server settings:
14532 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14533 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14534 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14536 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14537 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14538 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14539 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14541 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14542 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14543 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14549 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14551 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14553 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14554 format. It should be used with some caution.
14556 @vindex nnml-directory
14557 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14558 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14559 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14560 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14562 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14565 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14566 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14567 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14568 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14569 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14570 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14571 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14572 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14574 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14575 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14576 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14577 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14579 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14581 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14582 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14583 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14584 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14585 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14586 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14587 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14588 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14591 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14592 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14593 them next time it starts.
14595 Virtual server settings:
14598 @item nnml-directory
14599 @vindex nnml-directory
14600 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14601 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14604 @item nnml-active-file
14605 @vindex nnml-active-file
14606 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14607 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14609 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14610 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14611 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14612 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14614 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14615 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14616 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14619 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14620 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14621 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14622 default is @code{nil}.
14624 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14625 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14626 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14628 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14629 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14630 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14632 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14633 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14634 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14635 default is @code{nil}.
14637 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14638 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14639 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14641 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14642 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14643 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14648 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14649 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14650 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14651 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14652 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14653 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14654 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14659 @subsubsection MH Spool
14661 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14663 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14664 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14665 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14666 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14668 Virtual server settings:
14671 @item nnmh-directory
14672 @vindex nnmh-directory
14673 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14674 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14677 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14678 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14679 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14683 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14684 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14685 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14686 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14687 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14688 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14689 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14694 @subsubsection Maildir
14698 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14699 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14700 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14701 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14702 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14705 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14706 reading, without needing locks. With other backends, you would have
14707 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14708 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14709 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14710 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14713 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14714 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14715 data in the filesystem.
14717 nnmaildir stores article marks and NOV data in each maildir. So you
14718 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14721 Virtual server settings:
14725 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14726 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14727 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14728 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14729 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14730 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14731 starting with `.' are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14732 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14733 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14736 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14737 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14738 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14739 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14740 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14741 don't worry - a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14742 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14743 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14744 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14745 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14747 @item target-prefix
14748 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14749 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14750 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14753 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14754 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14755 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14756 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14757 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14758 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14759 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14760 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14761 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14763 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14764 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14765 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14766 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14767 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14769 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14770 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14771 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14772 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14773 @code{force} argument.
14775 @item directory-files
14776 This should be a function with the same interface as
14777 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14778 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14779 parameter is optional; the default is
14780 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14781 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14782 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14783 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14784 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14785 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14788 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14789 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14790 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14791 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14792 value is @code{nil}.
14794 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14795 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14796 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14797 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14798 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14801 @subsubsection Group parameters
14803 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14804 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14805 behavior for other mail backends: articles are deleted after one week,
14806 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14807 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14808 duplicate the behavior you already have with another backend.
14810 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14811 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14812 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14813 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14814 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14815 backends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14816 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14817 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14818 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14822 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
14823 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
14824 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
14825 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
14826 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overridable by
14827 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
14828 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
14829 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
14830 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
14831 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
14832 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
14833 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
14836 If this is set to a string (a full Gnus group name, like
14837 @code{"backend+server.address.string:group.name"}), and if it is not
14838 the name of the same group that the parameter belongs to, then
14839 articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry before
14840 being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
14841 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
14842 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
14843 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
14844 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
14845 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
14846 article. So that form can refer to
14847 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
14848 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, nnmaildir does not fall
14849 back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
14850 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
14853 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
14854 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
14855 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
14856 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
14857 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
14858 directory of another maildir - e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
14859 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
14860 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
14861 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
14862 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
14863 extra copies of the articles.
14865 @item directory-files
14866 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
14867 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
14868 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
14869 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
14871 @item distrust-Lines:
14872 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
14873 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
14874 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
14877 A list of mark symbols, such as
14878 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
14879 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
14880 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
14881 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
14882 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14883 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14886 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
14887 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
14888 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
14889 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
14890 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
14891 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14892 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14894 @item nov-cache-size
14895 An integer specifying the size of the NOV memory cache. To speed
14896 things up, nnmaildir keeps NOV data in memory for a limited number of
14897 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
14898 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
14899 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened - i.e.,
14900 when you first start Gnus, typically. The NOV cache is never resized
14901 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
14902 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
14903 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
14904 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
14907 @subsubsection Article identification
14908 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
14909 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
14910 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
14911 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
14912 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
14913 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
14914 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
14915 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
14916 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
14917 request the article in the summary buffer.
14919 @subsubsection NOV data
14920 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its NOV data (used to
14921 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
14922 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
14923 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
14924 need for it - an article's NOV data is updated automatically when the
14925 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
14926 nnmaildir to regenerate the NOV data for a single article simply by
14927 deleting the corresponding NOV file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
14928 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
14929 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
14931 @subsubsection Article marks
14932 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
14933 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
14934 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
14935 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
14936 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
14937 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
14938 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
14939 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
14941 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
14942 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
14943 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
14944 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
14945 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
14946 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
14947 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
14948 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
14949 changes, and might undo them.
14953 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14955 @cindex mbox folders
14956 @cindex mail folders
14958 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14959 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14960 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14963 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14965 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14966 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14967 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14968 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14969 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14970 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14971 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14972 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14973 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14974 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14976 Virtual server settings:
14979 @item nnfolder-directory
14980 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14981 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14982 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14985 @item nnfolder-active-file
14986 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14987 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14989 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14990 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14991 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14992 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
14994 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14995 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14996 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14999 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15000 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15001 @cindex backup files
15002 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15003 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
15004 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
15005 your @file{.emacs} file:
15008 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15009 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15011 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15014 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15015 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15016 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15017 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15018 extract some information from it before removing it.
15020 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15021 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15022 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
15023 default is @code{nil}.
15025 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15026 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15027 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15029 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15030 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15031 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
15032 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15034 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15035 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15036 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15037 default is @code{nil}.
15039 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15040 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15041 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15043 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15044 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15045 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
15046 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15051 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15052 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15053 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15054 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15055 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15056 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15059 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15060 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15062 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15063 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15064 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15065 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15066 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15068 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15069 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15070 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15071 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
15072 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15073 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15074 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15075 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15078 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15079 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15080 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15081 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15086 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15087 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15088 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15089 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15090 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15091 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15092 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15093 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15094 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15095 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15096 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15097 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15098 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15103 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15104 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15105 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15106 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15107 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15108 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15109 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15110 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15111 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
15112 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15113 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15114 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15115 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
15116 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15118 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15119 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15124 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15125 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15126 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15127 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15128 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15129 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15130 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15131 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15132 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15133 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15134 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15135 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15136 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15137 provided by the active file and overviews.
15139 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15140 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15141 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15142 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15143 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15146 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15147 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15152 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15153 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15154 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
15155 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15156 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15157 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15158 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15162 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15163 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15164 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15165 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15166 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15167 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15168 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15169 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15170 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15172 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15173 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15174 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15175 friendly mail back end all over.
15179 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15180 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15183 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15184 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15185 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15186 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15187 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15188 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15189 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
15190 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
15193 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15194 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15195 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
15196 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15197 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15198 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15199 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15200 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15201 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15202 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15203 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15205 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15206 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15207 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15208 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15209 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15212 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15213 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15214 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15215 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15216 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15217 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15218 removed in the future.
15220 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15221 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15222 on your file system.
15224 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15225 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15230 @node Browsing the Web
15231 @section Browsing the Web
15233 @cindex browsing the web
15237 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15238 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15239 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15240 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15241 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15242 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15243 even know what a news group is.
15245 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15246 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15247 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15248 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15249 you mad in the end.
15251 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15254 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15255 interfaces to these sources.
15259 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15260 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15261 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15262 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15263 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15264 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15267 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15269 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15270 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
15271 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15272 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15273 though, you should be ok.
15275 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15276 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15277 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15278 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15279 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15281 @node Archiving Mail
15282 @subsection Archiving Mail
15283 @cindex archiving mail
15284 @cindex backup of mail
15286 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15287 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15288 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15289 marks is fairly simple.
15291 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15292 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15295 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15296 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15297 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15298 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15299 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15300 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15301 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15302 before you restore the data.
15304 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15305 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15306 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15307 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15308 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15309 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15310 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15311 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15312 is unnecessary in that case.
15315 @subsection Web Searches
15320 @cindex Usenet searches
15321 @cindex searching the Usenet
15323 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15324 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15325 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15326 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15327 searches without having to use a browser.
15329 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15330 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15331 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15332 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15333 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15335 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15336 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15337 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15338 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15339 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15340 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15341 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15342 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15343 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15344 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15347 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15348 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15349 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15350 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15351 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15352 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15354 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15355 to use @code{nnweb}.
15357 Virtual server variables:
15362 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15363 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15364 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15367 @vindex nnweb-search
15368 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15370 @item nnweb-max-hits
15371 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15372 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15375 @item nnweb-type-definition
15376 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15377 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15378 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15383 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15387 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15390 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15393 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15397 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15404 @subsection Slashdot
15408 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
15409 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15410 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15412 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15413 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15416 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15417 '((nnslashdot "")))
15420 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15421 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15422 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15423 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15424 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15427 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15428 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15430 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15431 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
15432 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15433 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
15434 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
15435 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15438 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15441 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15442 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15443 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15444 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15445 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15446 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15447 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15449 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15450 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15451 The login name to use when posting.
15453 @item nnslashdot-password
15454 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15455 The password to use when posting.
15457 @item nnslashdot-directory
15458 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15459 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15460 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15462 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15463 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15464 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
15465 news articles and comments. The default is
15466 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15468 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15469 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15470 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15472 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15474 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15475 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15476 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15478 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15480 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15481 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15482 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15484 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15485 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15486 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15487 updated. The default is 0.
15494 @subsection Ultimate
15496 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15498 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
15499 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15500 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15501 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15503 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15504 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15505 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15506 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15507 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15508 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15509 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15511 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15514 @item nnultimate-directory
15515 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15516 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15517 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15522 @subsection Web Archive
15524 @cindex Web Archive
15526 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15527 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15528 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15529 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15532 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15533 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15534 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15535 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15536 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15537 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15538 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15539 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15541 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15544 @item nnwarchive-directory
15545 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15546 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15547 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15549 @item nnwarchive-login
15550 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15551 The account name on the web server.
15553 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15554 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15555 The password for your account on the web server.
15563 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15564 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15565 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15568 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15569 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15572 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15575 @item nnrss-directory
15576 @vindex nnrss-directory
15577 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15578 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15582 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15583 the summary buffer.
15586 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15587 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15589 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15591 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15592 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15595 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15598 (require 'browse-url)
15600 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15602 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15605 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15606 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15609 (browse-url (cdr url))
15610 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15611 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15613 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15614 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15615 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15616 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15619 @node Customizing w3
15620 @subsection Customizing w3
15626 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15627 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15628 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15630 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15631 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15632 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15635 (eval-after-load "w3"
15637 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15638 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15639 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15640 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15642 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15645 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15646 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15655 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15656 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15657 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15658 specify the network address of the server.
15660 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15661 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15662 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15663 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15664 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15666 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15667 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15668 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15669 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15671 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15672 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15673 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15674 usage explained in this section.
15676 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15677 might look something like the following. (Note that for TLS/SSL, you
15678 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15681 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15682 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15683 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15685 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15686 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15687 ; a UW server running on localhost
15689 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15690 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15691 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15692 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15693 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15694 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15695 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15696 (nnimap-stream network))
15697 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15699 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15700 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15701 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15704 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15705 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15706 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15707 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15709 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15714 @item nnimap-address
15715 @vindex nnimap-address
15717 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15718 server name if not specified.
15720 @item nnimap-server-port
15721 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15722 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for TLS/SSL.
15724 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15727 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15728 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15731 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15732 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15733 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15734 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15735 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15736 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15737 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15739 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15740 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15741 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15744 Example server specification:
15747 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15748 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15749 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15752 @item nnimap-stream
15753 @vindex nnimap-stream
15754 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15755 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15756 of TLS/SSL. (@sc{imap} over TLS/SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15757 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15759 Example server specification:
15762 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15763 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15766 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15770 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15771 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
15773 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15775 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15776 TLS/SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15779 @dfn{tls:} Connect through TLS. Requires GNUTLS (the program
15780 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
15782 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15783 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15785 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15787 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15790 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15791 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15792 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15793 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15794 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15795 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15796 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15797 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15798 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15801 For TLS connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
15802 needed. It is available from
15803 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
15805 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
15806 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
15807 authenticated IMAP stream in a subshell. They are tried sequentially
15808 until a connection is made, or the list has been exhausted. By
15809 default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
15810 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
15811 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
15814 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15815 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15816 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15817 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15818 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15819 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15820 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15823 @vindex imap-shell-program
15824 @vindex imap-shell-host
15825 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15826 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15828 @item nnimap-authenticator
15829 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15831 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15832 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15834 Example server specification:
15837 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15838 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15841 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15845 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15846 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
15848 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15851 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15852 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15854 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15856 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15858 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15861 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15863 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15864 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15865 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15866 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15867 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15868 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15871 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15872 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15873 running in circles yet?
15875 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15876 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15879 The possible options are:
15884 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15887 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15888 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15889 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15890 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15892 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15897 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15898 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15900 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15901 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15902 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15903 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15904 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15907 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15908 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15911 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15912 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15913 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15914 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15917 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15918 as ticked for other users.
15920 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15922 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15924 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15925 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15926 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15927 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15929 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15930 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15931 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15932 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15934 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15935 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15937 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15938 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15939 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15945 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15946 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15947 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15948 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
15949 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15954 @node Splitting in IMAP
15955 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15956 @cindex splitting imap mail
15958 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15959 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15960 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15961 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15962 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15966 Here are the variables of interest:
15970 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15971 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15973 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15975 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15976 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15978 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15980 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15981 @cindex splitting, inbox
15983 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15985 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15986 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15990 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15991 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15994 No nnmail equivalent.
15996 @item nnimap-split-rule
15997 @cindex Splitting, rules
15998 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16000 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16003 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16004 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
16005 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16006 Neither did I, we need examples.
16009 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16011 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16012 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16013 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16016 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16017 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16018 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16020 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
16021 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16025 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16028 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16029 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16031 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16032 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16033 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
16034 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16036 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16037 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16038 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16039 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16040 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16041 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16043 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16044 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16045 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16047 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16048 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16049 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16051 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16053 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16054 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16055 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16058 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16059 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16060 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
16061 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16062 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16063 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
16066 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16067 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16068 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16069 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16070 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16071 group/function elements.
16073 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16075 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16077 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16079 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16080 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16082 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
16083 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16084 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16087 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16088 @cindex splitting, fancy
16089 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16090 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16092 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16093 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16094 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16096 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16097 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16098 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16099 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16104 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16105 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16108 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16110 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16111 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16112 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16114 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
16115 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
16116 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
16117 analyses the body to split the article.
16121 @node Expiring in IMAP
16122 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16123 @cindex expiring imap mail
16125 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16126 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16127 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
16128 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16129 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16130 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16133 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
16134 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16135 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16136 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16137 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16138 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16139 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16140 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16144 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16145 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16147 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16148 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16150 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16152 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16153 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16154 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
16155 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16159 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16160 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16161 @cindex editing imap acls
16162 @cindex Access Control Lists
16163 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
16165 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16167 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
16168 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16169 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16172 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16173 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
16174 editing window with detailed instructions.
16176 Some possible uses:
16180 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16181 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16182 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16184 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16185 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16186 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
16190 @node Expunging mailboxes
16191 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16195 @cindex Manual expunging
16197 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16199 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16200 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16201 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16203 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16206 @node A note on namespaces
16207 @subsection A note on namespaces
16208 @cindex IMAP namespace
16211 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
16212 following text in the RFC:
16215 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16217 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16218 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16219 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16220 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16222 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16223 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16224 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16225 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16226 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16227 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16230 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
16231 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
16232 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16234 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
16235 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
16236 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
16237 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
16238 the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
16239 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
16240 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
16241 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
16243 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16244 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16245 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16247 @node Other Sources
16248 @section Other Sources
16250 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16251 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16255 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16256 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16257 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16258 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16259 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16263 @node Directory Groups
16264 @subsection Directory Groups
16266 @cindex directory groups
16268 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16269 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16272 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16273 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16274 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16275 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16277 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16278 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16279 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16280 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16281 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16283 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
16285 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16286 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16287 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16288 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16291 @node Anything Groups
16292 @subsection Anything Groups
16295 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16296 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16297 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16300 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16301 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16302 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16303 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16304 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16305 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16306 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16307 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16308 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16309 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16312 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16313 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16314 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16315 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16317 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16318 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16319 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16320 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16322 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16323 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16324 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16325 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16326 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16327 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16328 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16329 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16334 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16335 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16336 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16337 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16339 @item nneething-exclude-files
16340 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16341 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16342 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16344 @item nneething-include-files
16345 @vindex nneething-include-files
16346 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16347 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16349 @item nneething-map-file
16350 @vindex nneething-map-file
16351 Name of the map files.
16355 @node Document Groups
16356 @subsection Document Groups
16358 @cindex documentation group
16361 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16362 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16369 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
16374 The standard Unix mbox file.
16376 @cindex MMDF mail box
16378 The MMDF mail box format.
16381 Several news articles appended into a file.
16384 @cindex rnews batch files
16385 The rnews batch transport format.
16386 @cindex forwarded messages
16389 Forwarded articles.
16392 Netscape mail boxes.
16395 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
16397 @item standard-digest
16398 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16401 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
16403 @item lanl-gov-announce
16404 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16406 @item rfc822-forward
16407 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16410 The Outlook mail box.
16413 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16416 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16419 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16422 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16428 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16431 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16437 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16438 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16439 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16442 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16443 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16444 group. And that's it.
16446 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16447 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16448 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16449 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16450 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16451 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16452 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16453 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16454 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16455 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16457 Virtual server variables:
16460 @item nndoc-article-type
16461 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16462 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16463 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16464 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16465 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16466 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16468 @item nndoc-post-type
16469 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16470 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16471 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16476 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16480 @node Document Server Internals
16481 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16483 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16484 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16485 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16486 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16488 First, here's an example document type definition:
16492 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16493 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16496 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16497 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16498 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16499 types can be defined with very few settings:
16502 @item first-article
16503 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16504 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16507 @item article-begin
16508 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16509 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16511 @item head-begin-function
16512 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16515 @item nndoc-head-begin
16516 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16519 @item nndoc-head-end
16520 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16521 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16523 @item body-begin-function
16524 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16528 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16531 @item body-end-function
16532 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16536 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16539 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16540 regexp will be totally ignored.
16544 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16545 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16546 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16547 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16548 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16551 @item prepare-body-function
16552 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16553 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16554 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16556 @item article-transform-function
16557 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16558 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16559 body of the article.
16561 @item generate-head-function
16562 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16563 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16564 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16565 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16569 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16574 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16575 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16576 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16577 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16578 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16579 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16580 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16581 (subtype digest guess))
16584 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16585 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16586 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16587 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16588 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16590 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16591 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16592 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16593 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16594 The alist is traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is
16595 called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is
16596 called to see whether a document is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on.
16597 These type predicates should return @code{nil} if the document is not
16598 of the correct type; @code{t} if it is of the correct type; and a
16599 number if the document might be of the correct type. A high number
16600 means high probability; a low number means low probability with
16601 @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16609 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16610 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16611 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16613 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16614 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16615 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16618 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16619 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16620 that interested in doing things properly.
16622 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16623 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16626 First some terminology:
16631 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16632 get news and/or mail from.
16635 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16636 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16639 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16643 @item message packets
16644 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16645 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16646 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16648 @item response packets
16649 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16650 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16651 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16661 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16662 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16663 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16664 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16667 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16670 You put the packet in your home directory.
16673 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16674 the native or secondary server.
16677 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16678 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16681 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16685 You transfer this packet to the server.
16688 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16691 You then repeat until you die.
16695 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16696 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16699 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16700 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16701 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16705 @node SOUP Commands
16706 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16708 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16712 @kindex G s b (Group)
16713 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16714 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16715 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16716 process/prefix convention.
16719 @kindex G s w (Group)
16720 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16721 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16724 @kindex G s s (Group)
16725 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16726 Send all replies from the replies packet
16727 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16730 @kindex G s p (Group)
16731 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16732 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16735 @kindex G s r (Group)
16736 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16737 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16740 @kindex O s (Summary)
16741 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16742 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16743 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16744 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16749 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16754 @item gnus-soup-directory
16755 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16756 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16757 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16759 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16760 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16761 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16762 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16764 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16765 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16766 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16767 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16769 @item gnus-soup-packer
16770 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16771 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16772 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16774 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16775 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16776 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16777 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16779 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16780 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16781 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16783 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16784 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16785 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16786 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16792 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16795 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16796 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16797 you can read them at leisure.
16799 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16803 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16804 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16805 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16806 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16808 @item nnsoup-directory
16809 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16810 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16811 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16813 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16814 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16815 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16816 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16818 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16819 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16820 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16821 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16822 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16824 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16825 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16826 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16827 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16829 @item nnsoup-active-file
16830 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16831 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16832 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16833 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16834 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16836 @item nnsoup-packer
16837 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16838 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16839 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16841 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16842 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16843 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16844 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16846 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16847 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16848 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16851 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16852 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16853 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16856 @item nnsoup-always-save
16857 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16858 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16864 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16866 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16867 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16868 more for that to happen.
16870 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16871 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16872 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16875 In specific, this is what it does:
16878 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16879 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16882 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16883 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16884 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16887 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16888 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16889 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16892 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16893 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16894 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16896 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16902 @item nngateway-address
16903 @vindex nngateway-address
16904 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16906 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16907 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16908 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16909 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16910 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16911 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16912 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16915 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16916 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16917 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16920 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16923 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16926 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16929 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16931 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16934 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16935 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16936 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16938 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16940 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16941 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16942 @code{nngateway-address}.
16947 (setq gnus-post-method
16949 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16950 (nngateway-header-transformation
16951 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16959 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16962 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16967 @node Combined Groups
16968 @section Combined Groups
16970 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16974 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16975 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16979 @node Virtual Groups
16980 @subsection Virtual Groups
16982 @cindex virtual groups
16983 @cindex merging groups
16985 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16988 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16989 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16990 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16992 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16993 regexp to match component groups.
16995 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16996 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16997 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16998 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16999 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17000 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17001 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17002 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17004 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17005 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17008 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17011 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17012 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17014 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17015 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17016 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17017 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17020 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17023 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17024 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17025 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17027 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17028 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17029 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17030 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17031 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17033 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17034 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17035 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17037 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17038 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17039 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17040 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17041 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17042 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17043 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17044 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17045 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17046 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17047 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17049 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17050 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17051 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17052 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17053 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17054 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17055 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17057 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17058 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17060 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17061 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17065 @node Kibozed Groups
17066 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17070 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
17071 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
17072 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
17073 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17075 @kindex G k (Group)
17076 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17079 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17080 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17081 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
17082 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17084 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
17085 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
17086 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17088 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17089 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17090 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17091 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
17092 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
17093 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
17094 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
17095 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17097 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17098 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17099 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17100 Stranger things have happened.
17102 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17103 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17105 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17106 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17107 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
17108 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
17109 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
17110 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
17112 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17113 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
17116 @node Gnus Unplugged
17117 @section Gnus Unplugged
17122 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
17124 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17125 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17126 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17127 read news. Believe it or not.
17129 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17130 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17131 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17132 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17133 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17135 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17136 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17137 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17138 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17139 reading news on a machine.
17141 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17142 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17144 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17147 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17148 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17149 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17150 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17151 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17152 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17153 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
17154 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17155 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17156 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17157 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17158 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17163 @subsection Agent Basics
17165 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17167 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17168 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17169 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17170 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17172 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17173 connected to the net continuously.
17175 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17176 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17178 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17183 @findex gnus-unplugged
17184 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17185 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17186 already fetched while in this mode.
17189 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17190 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17191 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17192 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
17193 Source Specifiers}).
17196 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
17197 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
17198 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
17199 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
17200 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
17203 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17204 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17205 then you read the news offline.
17208 And then you go to step 2.
17211 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17217 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17218 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17219 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17220 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17221 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17222 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17223 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17224 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17228 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17229 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17230 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17231 is probably best to start with a category @xref{Agent Categories}.
17233 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17234 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17235 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17236 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17237 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17238 your policy, you can use grou parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17242 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17246 @node Agent Categories
17247 @subsection Agent Categories
17249 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17250 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17251 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17252 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17253 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17254 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17255 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17257 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17258 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17259 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17260 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17261 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17263 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17264 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17265 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17266 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17267 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17270 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17271 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17272 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17273 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17274 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17275 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17279 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17280 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17281 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17285 @node Category Syntax
17286 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17288 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17289 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17290 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17294 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17295 The name of the category.
17297 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17298 The list of groups that are in this category.
17300 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17301 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17302 are eligible for downloading; and
17304 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17305 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17306 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17307 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17309 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17310 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17311 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17312 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17313 only groups that should not be expired.
17315 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17316 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17317 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17319 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17320 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17322 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17323 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17325 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17326 an integer that overrides the value of
17327 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17329 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17330 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17333 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17336 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17337 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17338 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17341 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17342 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17343 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17344 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17346 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17347 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17348 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17350 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17351 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17352 operators sprinkled in between.
17354 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17356 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17357 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17363 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17364 short (for some value of ``short'').
17366 Here's a more complex predicate:
17375 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17376 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17379 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17380 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17381 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17383 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17384 you want to do, you can write your own.
17386 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17387 bound to the value determined by calling
17388 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17389 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17390 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17391 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17392 predicate to individual groups.
17396 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17397 lines; default 100.
17400 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17401 lines; default 200.
17404 True iff the article has a download score less than
17405 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17408 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17409 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17412 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17413 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17414 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17423 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17424 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17425 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17428 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17429 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17430 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17431 something along the lines of the following:
17434 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17435 "Say whether an article is old."
17436 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17437 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17440 with the predicate then defined as:
17443 (not my-article-old-p)
17446 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17447 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17451 (require 'gnus-agent)
17452 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17453 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17454 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17457 and simply specify your predicate as:
17463 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17464 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17465 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17466 just don't give a damn.
17468 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17469 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17470 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17471 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
17472 parameters like so:
17475 (agent-predicate . short)
17478 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17479 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17480 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17482 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17485 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17488 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17489 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17490 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17493 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17494 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17495 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17496 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17497 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17498 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17500 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17501 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17502 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17503 if it's to be specific to that group.
17505 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17512 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
17513 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17519 Category specification
17523 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17529 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17532 (agent-score ("from"
17533 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17538 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17544 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17545 keywords stated above.
17551 Category specification
17554 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17560 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17564 Group Parameter specification
17567 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17570 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17575 Use @code{normal} score files
17577 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17578 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17579 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17580 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17582 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17583 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17584 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17585 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17589 Category Specification
17596 Group Parameter specification
17599 (agent-score . file)
17604 @node Category Buffer
17605 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17607 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17608 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17609 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17611 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17615 @kindex q (Category)
17616 @findex gnus-category-exit
17617 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17620 @kindex e (Category)
17621 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17622 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17623 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17626 @kindex k (Category)
17627 @findex gnus-category-kill
17628 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17631 @kindex c (Category)
17632 @findex gnus-category-copy
17633 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17636 @kindex a (Category)
17637 @findex gnus-category-add
17638 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17641 @kindex p (Category)
17642 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17643 Edit the predicate of the current category
17644 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17647 @kindex g (Category)
17648 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17649 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17650 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17653 @kindex s (Category)
17654 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17655 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17656 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17659 @kindex l (Category)
17660 @findex gnus-category-list
17661 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17665 @node Category Variables
17666 @subsubsection Category Variables
17669 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17670 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17671 Hook run in category buffers.
17673 @item gnus-category-line-format
17674 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17675 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17676 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17680 The name of the category.
17683 The number of groups in the category.
17686 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17687 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17688 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17690 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17691 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17692 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17694 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17695 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17696 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17698 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17699 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17700 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17703 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17704 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17705 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17708 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17709 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17710 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17711 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17712 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17713 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17714 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17715 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17719 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17720 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17721 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17722 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17723 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17724 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17725 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17730 @node Agent Commands
17731 @subsection Agent Commands
17732 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17733 @kindex J j (Agent)
17735 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17736 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17737 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17741 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17742 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17743 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17749 @node Group Agent Commands
17750 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17754 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17755 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17756 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17757 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17760 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17761 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17762 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17765 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17766 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17767 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17768 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17771 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17772 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17773 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17774 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17777 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17778 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17779 Add the current group to an Agent category
17780 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17781 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17784 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17785 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17786 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17787 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17788 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17791 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17792 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17793 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17799 @node Summary Agent Commands
17800 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17804 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17805 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17806 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17809 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17810 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17811 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17812 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17816 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17817 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17818 Toggle whether to download the article
17819 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17823 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17824 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17825 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17828 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17829 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17830 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17831 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17834 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17835 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17836 Download all processable articles in this group.
17837 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17840 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17841 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17842 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17843 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17848 @node Server Agent Commands
17849 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17853 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17854 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17855 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17856 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17859 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17860 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17861 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17862 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17867 @node Agent as Cache
17868 @subsection Agent as Cache
17870 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17871 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17872 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17873 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17874 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17875 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17876 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17877 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17878 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17880 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17881 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
17882 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
17883 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
17884 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap backend.
17887 @subsection Agent Expiry
17889 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17890 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17891 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17892 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
17893 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
17894 @cindex Agent expiry
17895 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17898 The Agent backend, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
17899 least it doesn't handle it like other backends. Instead, there are
17900 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
17901 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
17902 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
17903 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
17904 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
17905 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
17907 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17908 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17909 synchronized with the group.
17911 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
17912 prevent expiration in selected groups.
17914 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17915 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
17916 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
17917 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
17918 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
17919 be kept indefinitely.
17921 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17922 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
17923 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
17924 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
17926 @node Agent Regeneration
17927 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17929 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17930 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17931 @cindex regeneration
17933 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17934 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17935 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17936 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17937 internal inconsistencies.
17939 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17940 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17941 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
17942 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17943 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17944 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17946 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17947 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17948 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17949 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17950 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17951 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17953 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17954 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17955 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17956 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17957 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17958 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17961 @node Agent and IMAP
17962 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17964 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17965 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17966 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17967 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17969 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17970 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
17971 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17972 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17974 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17975 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17976 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17977 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17979 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17980 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17981 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17982 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17983 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17984 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17986 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17987 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17988 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17989 in the group buffer.
17991 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17992 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17997 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18000 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18004 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18005 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18006 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18007 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
18008 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18009 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18010 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18011 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18014 @node Outgoing Messages
18015 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18017 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18018 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18019 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18021 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18022 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18023 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18024 messages in the draft group.
18028 @node Agent Variables
18029 @subsection Agent Variables
18032 @item gnus-agent-directory
18033 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18034 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18035 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18037 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18038 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18039 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18040 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18041 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18044 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18045 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18046 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18048 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18049 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18050 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18052 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18053 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18054 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18056 @item gnus-agent-cache
18057 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18058 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
18059 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18060 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18062 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18063 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18064 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18065 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18066 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18067 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18068 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18071 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18072 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18073 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18074 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18075 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18076 read. The default is t.
18078 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18079 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18080 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18081 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
18082 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
18084 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18085 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18086 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18087 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18088 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18089 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18090 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18091 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18092 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18093 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18094 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18095 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18098 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18099 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18100 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18101 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18102 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18103 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18104 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18105 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18106 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18108 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18109 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18110 Another variable that isn't a Agent variable, yet so closely related
18111 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18112 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18113 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18115 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18116 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18117 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18118 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18119 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18124 @node Example Setup
18125 @subsection Example Setup
18127 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18128 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18129 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18132 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
18133 ;;; from your ISP's server.
18134 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18136 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
18137 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
18138 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18140 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
18141 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18143 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
18144 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
18145 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
18148 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18149 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18152 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18153 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18154 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18155 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18156 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18159 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18160 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18161 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18162 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18163 back all the killed groups.)
18165 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18166 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18167 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18170 @node Batching Agents
18171 @subsection Batching Agents
18172 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18174 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18175 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18176 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18178 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18179 following incantation:
18183 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18187 @node Agent Caveats
18188 @subsection Agent Caveats
18190 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18191 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18195 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18197 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18198 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18199 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18201 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18202 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18204 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18208 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18209 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18210 locally stored articles.
18217 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18218 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18219 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18222 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18223 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18224 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18225 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18226 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18228 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18229 before generating the summary buffer.
18231 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18232 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18233 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18235 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18236 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18237 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18238 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18241 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18242 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18243 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18244 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18245 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18246 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18247 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18248 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18249 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18250 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18251 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18252 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18253 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18254 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18255 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18256 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18257 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18261 @node Summary Score Commands
18262 @section Summary Score Commands
18263 @cindex score commands
18265 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18266 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18267 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18268 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18269 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18271 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18272 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18273 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18274 score file the current one.
18276 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18281 @kindex V s (Summary)
18282 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18283 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18286 @kindex V S (Summary)
18287 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18288 Display the score of the current article
18289 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18292 @kindex V t (Summary)
18293 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18294 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18295 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18296 can use @kbd{q} to quit. @kbd{e} edits the corresponding score file.
18297 When point is on a string within the match element, @kbd{e} will try to
18298 bring you to this string in the score file.
18301 @kindex V w (Summary)
18302 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18303 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18306 @kindex V R (Summary)
18307 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18308 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18309 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18310 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18311 effect you're having.
18314 @kindex V c (Summary)
18315 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18316 Make a different score file the current
18317 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18320 @kindex V e (Summary)
18321 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18322 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18323 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18327 @kindex V f (Summary)
18328 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18329 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18330 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18333 @kindex V F (Summary)
18334 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18335 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18336 after editing score files.
18339 @kindex V C (Summary)
18340 @findex gnus-score-customize
18341 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18342 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18346 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18351 @kindex V m (Summary)
18352 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18353 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18354 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18357 @kindex V x (Summary)
18358 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18359 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18360 expunge all articles below this score
18361 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18364 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18365 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18368 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18369 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18373 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18374 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18376 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18377 keys are available:
18381 Score on the author name.
18384 Score on the subject line.
18387 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18390 Score on the @code{References} line.
18396 Score on the number of lines.
18399 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18402 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18403 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18406 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18407 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18408 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18417 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18423 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18424 what headers you are scoring on.
18436 Substring matching.
18439 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18468 Greater than number.
18473 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18474 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18475 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18480 Temporary score entry.
18483 Permanent score entry.
18486 Immediately scoring.
18490 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18491 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18492 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18496 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18497 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18498 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18499 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18501 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18502 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18503 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18504 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18505 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18507 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18508 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18509 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18510 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18511 current score file.
18513 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18514 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18515 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18518 @node Group Score Commands
18519 @section Group Score Commands
18520 @cindex group score commands
18522 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18527 @kindex W f (Group)
18528 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18529 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18530 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18531 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18535 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18537 @findex gnus-batch-score
18538 @cindex batch scoring
18540 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18544 @node Score Variables
18545 @section Score Variables
18546 @cindex score variables
18550 @item gnus-use-scoring
18551 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18552 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18553 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18555 @item gnus-kill-killed
18556 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18557 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18558 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18559 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18560 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18561 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18562 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18564 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18565 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18566 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18567 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18568 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18570 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18571 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18572 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18573 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18575 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18576 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18577 @cindex score cache
18578 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18579 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18580 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18581 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18582 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18583 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18584 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18587 @item gnus-save-score
18588 @vindex gnus-save-score
18589 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18590 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18591 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18593 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18594 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18595 across group visits.
18597 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18598 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18599 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18600 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18601 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18602 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18603 manually entered data.
18605 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18606 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18607 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18609 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18610 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18611 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18612 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18613 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18614 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18616 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18617 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18618 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18619 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18621 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18622 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18623 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18624 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18626 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18627 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18628 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18629 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18631 Predefined functions available are:
18634 @item gnus-score-find-single
18635 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18636 Only apply the group's own score file.
18638 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18639 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18640 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18641 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18642 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18643 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18644 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18645 then a regexp match is done.
18647 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18648 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18650 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18651 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18652 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18653 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18655 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18656 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18657 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18658 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18659 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18663 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18664 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18665 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18666 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18667 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18668 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18669 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18672 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18673 overall score file, you could use the value
18675 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18676 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18679 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18680 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18681 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18682 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18683 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18685 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18686 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18687 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18688 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18689 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18690 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18691 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18692 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18694 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18695 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18696 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18698 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18699 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18700 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18701 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18702 threading---according to the current value of
18703 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18704 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18705 simplified in this manner.
18710 @node Score File Format
18711 @section Score File Format
18712 @cindex score file format
18714 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18715 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18716 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18718 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18722 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18724 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18726 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18728 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18733 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18737 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18738 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18739 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18740 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18744 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18745 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18747 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18748 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18749 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18751 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18756 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18757 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18758 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18759 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18760 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18761 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18762 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18763 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18764 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18765 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18766 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18767 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18768 to articles that matches these score entries.
18770 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18771 score entry has one to four elements.
18775 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18776 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18780 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18781 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18782 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18783 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18784 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18785 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18788 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18789 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18790 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18791 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18792 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18795 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18796 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18797 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18798 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18801 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18802 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18803 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18804 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18805 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18806 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18807 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18808 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18809 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18810 instead, if you feel like.
18813 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18814 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18815 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18816 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18817 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18818 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18821 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18825 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18826 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18828 These predicates are true if
18831 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18834 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18835 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18842 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18843 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18844 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18845 it's not. I think.)
18847 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18848 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18849 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18850 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18853 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18854 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18855 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18856 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18857 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18858 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18859 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18863 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18864 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18865 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18866 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18867 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18868 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18869 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18870 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18873 @item Head, Body, All
18874 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18878 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18879 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18880 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18881 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18882 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18883 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18884 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18888 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18889 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18890 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18891 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18892 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18893 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18894 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18895 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18896 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18897 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18898 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18902 @cindex Score File Atoms
18904 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18905 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18908 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18909 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18911 @item mark-and-expunge
18912 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18913 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18916 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18917 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18918 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18919 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18920 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18923 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18924 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18927 @item exclude-files
18928 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18929 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18933 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18934 ignored when handling global score files.
18937 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18938 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18939 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18940 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18943 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18944 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18945 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18946 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18948 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18952 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18955 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18956 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18957 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18958 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18959 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18961 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18962 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18963 scoring rules exist.
18966 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18967 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18968 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18969 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18970 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18971 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18972 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18973 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18974 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18975 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18976 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18980 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18981 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18982 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18983 file for a number of groups.
18986 @cindex local variables
18987 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
18988 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
18989 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
18990 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
18991 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
18996 @node Score File Editing
18997 @section Score File Editing
18999 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19000 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19001 with a mode for that.
19003 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19004 additional commands:
19009 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19010 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19011 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19012 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19015 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19016 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19017 Insert the current date in numerical format
19018 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19019 you were wondering.
19022 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19023 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19024 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19025 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19026 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19031 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19033 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19034 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19036 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
19037 e} to begin editing score files.
19040 @node Adaptive Scoring
19041 @section Adaptive Scoring
19042 @cindex adaptive scoring
19044 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19045 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19046 stupidity, to be precise.
19048 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19049 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19050 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19051 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19052 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19053 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19054 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19055 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19056 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19058 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19059 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19060 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19061 might look something like this:
19064 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19065 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19066 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19067 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19068 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19069 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19070 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19071 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19072 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19073 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19074 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19075 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19078 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19079 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19080 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19081 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19082 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19083 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19086 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19087 will be applied to each article.
19089 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19090 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19091 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19092 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19094 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19095 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19096 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19097 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19099 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19100 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19101 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19102 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19104 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19105 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19106 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19107 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19108 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19109 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19111 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19112 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19113 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19115 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19116 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19117 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19119 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19120 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19121 let you use different rules in different groups.
19123 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19124 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19125 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19128 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19129 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19130 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19131 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19132 the length of the match is less than
19133 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19134 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19137 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19138 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19139 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19140 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19141 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19144 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19145 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19146 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19147 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19148 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19151 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19152 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19153 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19154 score with 30 points.
19156 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19157 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19158 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19159 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19160 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19162 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19163 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19164 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19165 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19166 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19168 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19169 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19170 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19171 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19173 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19174 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19175 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19176 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19178 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19179 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19180 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19181 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19182 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19184 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19185 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19186 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19188 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19189 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19190 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19191 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19194 @node Home Score File
19195 @section Home Score File
19197 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19198 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19199 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19200 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19202 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19203 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19204 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19206 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19207 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19212 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19216 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19217 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19221 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19225 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19226 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19229 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
19230 the home score file.
19233 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19236 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19241 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19244 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19245 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19248 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19249 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19251 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19253 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19254 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19257 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19258 Other functions include
19261 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19262 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19263 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19264 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19268 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19269 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19270 their own home score files:
19273 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19274 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
19275 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19276 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
19277 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19280 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19281 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19282 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19283 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19284 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19286 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19287 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19288 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19289 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19290 precedence over this variable.
19293 @node Followups To Yourself
19294 @section Followups To Yourself
19296 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19297 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19298 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19299 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19300 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19301 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19305 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19306 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19307 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19310 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19311 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19312 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19316 @vindex message-sent-hook
19317 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19318 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19320 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19324 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19325 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19329 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19330 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19333 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19334 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19339 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19343 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19344 is system-dependent.
19347 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19348 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19349 @cindex scoring on other headers
19351 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19352 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19353 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19354 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19355 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19357 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19358 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
19359 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
19360 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
19361 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19363 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19366 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19367 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19370 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19371 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19372 time if you have much mail.
19374 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19375 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19381 @section Scoring Tips
19382 @cindex scoring tips
19388 @cindex scoring crossposts
19389 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19390 the @code{Xref} header.
19392 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19395 @item Multiple crossposts
19396 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19397 more than, say, 3 groups:
19400 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19404 @item Matching on the body
19405 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19406 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19407 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19408 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19409 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19410 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19411 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19414 @item Marking as read
19415 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19416 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19417 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19421 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19423 @item Negated character classes
19424 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19425 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19426 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19430 @node Reverse Scoring
19431 @section Reverse Scoring
19432 @cindex reverse scoring
19434 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19435 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19436 like this in your score file:
19440 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19445 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19446 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19449 @node Global Score Files
19450 @section Global Score Files
19451 @cindex global score files
19453 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19454 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19455 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19457 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19458 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19459 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19461 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19462 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19463 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19464 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19465 files are applicable to which group.
19467 To use the score file
19468 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19469 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19473 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19474 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19475 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19478 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19480 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19481 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19482 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19483 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19485 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19486 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19488 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19489 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19490 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19491 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19492 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19493 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19495 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19501 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19503 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19505 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19507 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19508 lowered out of existence.
19510 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19511 articles completely.
19514 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19515 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19516 old articles for a long time.
19519 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19520 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19521 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19522 holding our breath yet?
19526 @section Kill Files
19529 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19530 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19531 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19533 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19534 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19535 files into score files.
19537 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19538 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19539 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19540 that isn't a very good idea.
19542 Normal kill files look like this:
19545 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19546 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19550 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19551 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19553 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19554 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19557 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
19562 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19563 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19564 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19567 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19568 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19569 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19572 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19577 @kindex M-k (Group)
19578 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19579 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19582 @kindex M-K (Group)
19583 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19584 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19587 Kill file variables:
19590 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19591 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19592 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19593 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19594 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19595 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19596 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19598 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19599 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19600 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19601 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19604 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19605 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19606 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19607 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19608 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19609 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19610 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19611 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19612 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19614 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19615 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19616 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19621 @node Converting Kill Files
19622 @section Converting Kill Files
19624 @cindex converting kill files
19626 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19627 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19628 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19631 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19632 You can fetch it from
19633 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19635 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19636 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19637 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19645 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
19646 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19647 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19648 news articles generated every day.
19650 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19651 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19652 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19653 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19654 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19655 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19656 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19657 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19660 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19661 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19664 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19665 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19666 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19667 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19671 @node Using GroupLens
19672 @subsection Using GroupLens
19674 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19676 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19677 better bit in town at the moment.
19679 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19683 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19684 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19685 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19686 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19688 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19689 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19690 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19691 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19693 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19694 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19695 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19699 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19700 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19701 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19702 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19703 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19704 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19707 @node Rating Articles
19708 @subsection Rating Articles
19710 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19711 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19712 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19713 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19716 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19721 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19722 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19723 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19726 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19727 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19728 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19729 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19730 threads in rec.humor.
19734 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19735 the score of the article you're reading.
19740 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19741 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19742 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19745 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19746 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19747 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19751 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19752 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19755 @node Displaying Predictions
19756 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19758 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19759 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19760 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19761 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19762 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19764 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19765 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19766 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19767 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19768 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19769 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19770 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19771 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19772 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19773 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19774 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19775 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19776 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19778 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19779 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19780 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19781 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19783 The following are valid values for that variable.
19786 @item prediction-spot
19787 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19790 @item confidence-interval
19791 A numeric confidence interval.
19793 @item prediction-bar
19794 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19796 @item confidence-bar
19797 Numerical confidence.
19799 @item confidence-spot
19800 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19802 @item prediction-num
19803 Plain-old numeric value.
19805 @item confidence-plus-minus
19806 Prediction +/- confidence.
19811 @node GroupLens Variables
19812 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19816 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19817 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19818 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19819 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19822 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19823 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19826 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19827 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19829 @item grouplens-score-offset
19830 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19831 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19834 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19835 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19836 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19841 @node Advanced Scoring
19842 @section Advanced Scoring
19844 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19845 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19846 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19847 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19848 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19850 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19854 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19855 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19856 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19860 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19861 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19863 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19864 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19865 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19866 non-@code{nil} value.
19868 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19869 operator, and various match operators.
19876 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19877 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19878 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19883 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19884 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19885 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19890 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19891 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19895 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19896 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19897 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19898 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19899 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19900 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19901 the ancestry you want to go.
19903 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19904 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19905 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19906 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19907 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19910 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19911 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19913 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19914 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19917 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19918 when he's talking about Gnus:
19922 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19923 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19929 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19933 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19940 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19941 really don't want to read what he's written:
19945 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19946 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19950 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19951 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19952 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19959 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19960 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19961 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19962 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19966 The possibilities are endless.
19969 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19970 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19972 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19973 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19974 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19975 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19976 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19977 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19978 @samp{subject}) first.
19980 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19981 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19992 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19993 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19999 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20006 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20007 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20012 @section Score Decays
20013 @cindex score decays
20016 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20017 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20018 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20019 use them in any sensible way.
20021 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20022 @findex gnus-decay-score
20023 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20024 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20025 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20026 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20027 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20028 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20029 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20030 definition of that function:
20033 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20035 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20036 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20039 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
20041 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20043 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20046 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20047 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20048 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20049 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20053 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20056 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20059 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20063 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20064 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20065 the new score, which should be an integer.
20067 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20068 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20073 @include message.texi
20074 @chapter Emacs MIME
20075 @include emacs-mime.texi
20077 @include sieve.texi
20079 @c @include pgg.texi
20087 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20088 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20089 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20090 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20091 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20092 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20093 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20094 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20095 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20096 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20097 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20098 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20099 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20100 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20101 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20102 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20103 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20104 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20105 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20109 @node Process/Prefix
20110 @section Process/Prefix
20111 @cindex process/prefix convention
20113 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20114 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20116 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20117 command to be performed on.
20121 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20122 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20123 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20124 with the current one.
20126 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20127 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20128 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20130 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20131 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20134 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20135 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20137 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20140 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20141 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20142 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20143 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20145 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20146 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20147 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20148 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20149 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20150 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20151 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20152 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20154 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20155 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20156 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20157 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20158 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20162 @section Interactive
20163 @cindex interaction
20167 @item gnus-novice-user
20168 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20169 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20170 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20171 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20172 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20175 @item gnus-expert-user
20176 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20177 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20178 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20179 matter how strange.
20181 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20182 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20183 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20184 is @code{t} by default.
20186 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20187 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20188 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20193 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20194 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20195 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20197 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20198 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20199 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20200 rule of 900 to the current article.
20202 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20203 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20204 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20205 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20206 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20207 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20208 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20210 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20211 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20212 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20213 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20214 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20215 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20216 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20217 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20218 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20220 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20221 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20222 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20224 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20228 @node Formatting Variables
20229 @section Formatting Variables
20230 @cindex formatting variables
20232 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20233 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20234 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20235 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20236 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20239 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20240 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20241 lots of percentages everywhere.
20244 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20245 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20246 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20247 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20248 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20249 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20250 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20251 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20254 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20255 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20256 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20257 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20258 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20259 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20260 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20261 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20263 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20264 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20266 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20267 @findex gnus-update-format
20268 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20269 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20270 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20271 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20275 @node Formatting Basics
20276 @subsection Formatting Basics
20278 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20279 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20280 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20282 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20283 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20284 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20285 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20286 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20289 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20290 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20291 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20292 less than 4 characters wide.
20294 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20295 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20298 @node Mode Line Formatting
20299 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20301 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20302 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20303 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20304 with the following two differences:
20309 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20312 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20313 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20314 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20315 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20316 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20317 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20318 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20323 @node Advanced Formatting
20324 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20326 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20327 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20328 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20329 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20331 These are the valid modifiers:
20336 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20340 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20345 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20348 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20353 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20356 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20359 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20362 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20368 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20373 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20374 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20375 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20376 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20377 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20378 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20379 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20381 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20382 last operation, padding.
20384 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20385 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20386 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20387 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20388 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20389 the look of your lines.
20390 @xref{Compilation}.
20393 @node User-Defined Specs
20394 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20396 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20397 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20398 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20399 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20400 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20401 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20402 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20403 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20404 should protect against that.
20406 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20407 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20409 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20410 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20411 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20412 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20416 @node Formatting Fonts
20417 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20419 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20420 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20421 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20422 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20425 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20426 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20427 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20428 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20429 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20430 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20432 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20433 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20434 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20435 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20436 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20437 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20438 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20439 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20440 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20441 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20442 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20445 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20448 ;; Create three face types.
20449 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20450 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20452 ;; We want the article count to be in
20453 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
20454 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
20455 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20457 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20458 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20460 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
20461 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20462 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20465 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20466 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20468 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20469 mode-line variables.
20471 @node Positioning Point
20472 @subsection Positioning Point
20474 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20475 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20476 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20478 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20480 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20481 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20482 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20484 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20485 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20486 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20491 @subsection Tabulation
20493 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20494 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20495 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20496 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20498 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
20499 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20501 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20502 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20503 This is the soft tabulator.
20505 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20506 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20507 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20510 @node Wide Characters
20511 @subsection Wide Characters
20513 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20514 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20515 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20517 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20518 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20519 these countries, that's not true.
20521 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20522 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20523 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20524 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20528 @node Window Layout
20529 @section Window Layout
20530 @cindex window layout
20532 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20534 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20535 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20536 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20537 @code{t} by default.
20539 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20540 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20542 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20543 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20544 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20547 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20548 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20549 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20553 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20554 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20555 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20556 possible names is listed below.
20558 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20559 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20562 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20566 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20567 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20568 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20569 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20570 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20571 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20572 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20573 size spec per split.
20575 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20576 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20577 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20578 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20579 present) gets focus.
20581 Here's a more complicated example:
20584 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20585 (summary 0.25 point)
20586 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20590 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20591 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20592 occupy, not a percentage.
20594 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20595 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20596 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20597 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20598 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20601 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20604 (article (horizontal 1.0
20609 (summary 0.25 point)
20614 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20615 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20617 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20618 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20619 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20620 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20621 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20623 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20624 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20625 lines from the splits.
20627 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20631 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20632 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20633 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20634 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20635 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20636 size = number | frame-params
20637 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20640 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20641 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20642 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20643 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20645 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20646 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20647 @cindex window height
20648 @cindex window width
20649 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20650 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20651 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20652 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20653 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20654 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20656 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20657 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20658 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20659 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20661 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20662 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20663 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20664 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20665 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20666 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20667 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20668 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20669 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20670 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20671 configuration list.
20674 (gnus-configure-frame
20678 (article 0.3 point))
20686 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20687 @code{frame} split:
20690 (gnus-configure-frame
20693 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20695 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20696 (user-position . t)
20697 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20702 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20703 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20704 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20705 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20706 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20707 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20708 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20709 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20711 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20712 be found in its default value.
20714 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20715 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20716 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20720 (message (horizontal 1.0
20721 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20723 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20728 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20729 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20730 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20735 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20736 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20737 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20738 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20739 (name . "Message"))
20740 (message 1.0 point))))
20743 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20744 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20745 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20746 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20747 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20750 (gnus-add-configuration
20751 '(article (vertical 1.0
20753 (summary .25 point)
20757 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20758 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20759 Gnus has been loaded.
20761 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20762 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20763 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20764 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20765 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20767 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20768 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20769 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20772 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20776 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20777 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20792 (gnus-add-configuration
20795 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20797 (summary 0.16 point)
20800 (gnus-add-configuration
20803 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20804 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20810 @node Faces and Fonts
20811 @section Faces and Fonts
20816 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20817 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20818 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20823 @section Compilation
20824 @cindex compilation
20825 @cindex byte-compilation
20827 @findex gnus-compile
20829 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20830 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20831 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20832 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20833 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20834 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20835 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20836 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20839 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20840 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20841 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20842 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20843 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20846 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20847 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20848 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20849 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20850 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20855 @section Mode Lines
20858 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20859 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20860 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20861 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20862 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20863 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20864 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20867 @cindex display-time
20869 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20870 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20871 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20872 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20873 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20874 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20875 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20876 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20879 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20881 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20882 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20884 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20885 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20886 (length display-time-string)))))
20889 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20890 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20891 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20892 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20893 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20896 @node Highlighting and Menus
20897 @section Highlighting and Menus
20899 @cindex highlighting
20902 @vindex gnus-visual
20903 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20904 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20905 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20908 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20909 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20912 @item group-highlight
20913 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20914 @item summary-highlight
20915 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20916 @item article-highlight
20917 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20919 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20921 Create menus in the group buffer.
20923 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20925 Create menus in the article buffer.
20927 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20929 Create menus in the server buffer.
20931 Create menus in the score buffers.
20933 Create menus in all buffers.
20936 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20937 buffers, you could say something like:
20940 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20943 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20946 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20949 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20950 in all Gnus buffers.
20952 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20955 @item gnus-mouse-face
20956 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20957 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20958 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20962 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20966 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20967 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20968 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20970 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20971 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20972 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20974 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20975 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20976 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20978 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20979 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20980 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20982 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20983 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20984 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20986 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20987 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20988 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20999 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21000 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21001 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21002 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21003 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21007 @vindex gnus-carpal
21008 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21009 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21010 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21015 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21016 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21017 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21019 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21020 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21021 Face used on buttons.
21023 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21024 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21025 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21027 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21028 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21029 Buttons in the group buffer.
21031 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21032 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21033 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21035 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21036 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21037 Buttons in the server buffer.
21039 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21040 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21041 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21044 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21045 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21046 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21054 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21055 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21056 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21057 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21058 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21060 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21061 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21062 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21064 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21065 been idle for thirty minutes:
21068 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21071 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
21075 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21078 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
21079 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21080 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21082 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21083 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21084 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21085 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21087 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21088 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21089 @var{idle} minutes.
21091 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21092 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21095 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21096 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21097 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21099 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21100 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21101 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21102 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21104 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21105 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21107 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21109 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21112 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21113 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21114 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21115 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21116 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21117 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21118 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21119 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21120 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21121 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21122 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21124 @findex gnus-demon-init
21125 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21126 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21127 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21128 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21129 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21131 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21132 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21133 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21142 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21143 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21145 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21146 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21147 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21148 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21151 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21152 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21153 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21154 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21156 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21157 this will make spam disappear.
21159 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21162 @item gnus-use-nocem
21163 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21164 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21167 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21168 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21169 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21170 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21171 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
21173 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21174 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21175 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21176 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
21177 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
21178 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21180 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
21181 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21183 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21184 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21185 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21186 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21187 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21188 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21189 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21190 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21191 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21192 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21194 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21195 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21198 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21201 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21202 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21205 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21208 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21211 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21212 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21214 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21215 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21216 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21217 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21219 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21220 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21223 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21225 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21233 This might be dangerous, though.
21235 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21236 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21237 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
21238 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21240 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21241 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21242 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21243 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21244 might then see old spam.
21246 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21247 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21248 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21249 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21250 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21253 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21254 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21255 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21256 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21260 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21261 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21262 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21263 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21270 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21271 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21272 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21274 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21275 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21276 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21277 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21278 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21279 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21280 @code{undo} function.
21282 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21283 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21284 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21285 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21286 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21287 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21288 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21289 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21290 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21291 never be totally undoable.
21293 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21294 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21296 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21297 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21298 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21299 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21303 @node Predicate Specifiers
21304 @section Predicate Specifiers
21305 @cindex predicate specifiers
21307 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21308 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21309 to type all that much.
21311 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21316 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21317 gnus-article-unread-p)
21320 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21321 functions all take one parameter.
21323 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21324 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21325 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21326 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21331 @section Moderation
21334 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21335 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21336 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21339 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21343 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21346 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21348 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21353 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21354 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21355 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21358 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21359 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21362 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21363 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21367 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21370 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21371 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21375 @node Image Enhancements
21376 @section Image Enhancements
21378 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
21379 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
21382 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21383 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21384 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21385 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21398 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21399 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
21400 over your shoulder as you read news.
21402 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21411 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21412 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21413 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21414 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21415 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21416 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21417 @code{GIF} formats.
21420 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21421 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21422 point your Web browser at
21423 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21425 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21426 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21428 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21429 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21432 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21436 @item gnus-picon-databases
21437 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21438 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21439 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21440 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21441 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21443 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21444 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21445 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21446 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21448 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21449 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21450 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21451 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21453 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21454 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21455 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21456 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21457 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21459 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21460 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21461 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21462 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
21467 @subsection Smileys
21472 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21477 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21478 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21480 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21481 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21484 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21487 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21488 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21489 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21490 text and maps that to file names.
21492 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21493 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21494 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21495 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21496 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21499 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21504 @item smiley-data-directory
21505 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21506 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21508 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21509 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21510 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21519 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21520 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21521 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21525 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21526 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
21527 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21528 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21536 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21537 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21538 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21539 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21541 The variable that controls this is the
21542 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21543 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21544 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21545 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21546 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21548 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21549 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21550 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21551 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21554 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21555 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21556 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21557 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21558 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21559 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21560 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21561 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21563 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21566 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21567 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21569 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21570 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21571 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21572 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21573 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21574 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21575 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21576 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21577 header data as a string.
21579 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21580 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21581 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21582 randomly generated data.
21584 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21585 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21586 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21587 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21588 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21590 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21591 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21594 (setq message-required-news-headers
21595 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21596 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21599 Using the last function would be something like this:
21602 (setq message-required-news-headers
21603 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21604 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21605 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21606 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21611 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21614 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21615 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21616 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21617 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21618 unusual directory structure.
21620 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21621 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21622 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21623 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21625 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21626 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21627 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21628 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21629 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21630 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21632 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21633 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21634 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21639 @subsubsection Toolbar
21643 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21644 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21645 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21646 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21647 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21649 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21650 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21651 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21653 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21654 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21655 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21657 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21658 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21659 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21670 @node Fuzzy Matching
21671 @section Fuzzy Matching
21672 @cindex fuzzy matching
21674 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21675 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21677 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21678 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21679 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21681 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21682 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21683 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21684 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21685 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21688 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21689 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21693 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21695 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21696 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21697 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21698 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21699 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21700 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21701 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21702 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21705 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21706 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21707 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21708 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21709 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21710 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21712 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21715 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21716 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21717 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21718 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21719 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21720 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21723 @node The problem of spam
21724 @subsection The problem of spam
21726 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21727 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21729 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21731 First, some background on spam.
21733 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21734 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21735 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21736 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21737 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21738 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21739 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21740 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21742 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21743 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21744 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21745 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21746 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21747 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21748 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21749 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21750 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21753 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21754 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21755 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21756 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21757 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21758 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21759 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21760 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21761 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21762 mail can be useful.
21764 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21765 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21766 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21767 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21768 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21769 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21770 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21771 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21772 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21774 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21775 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21776 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21777 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21778 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21779 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21780 because of the incident.
21782 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21783 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21784 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21785 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21786 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21787 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21788 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21789 to store the database of spam analyses.
21791 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21792 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21796 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21798 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21799 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21801 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21802 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21803 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21804 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21805 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21806 part of the mail address.)
21809 (setq message-default-news-headers
21810 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21813 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21814 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21819 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21820 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21821 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21827 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21828 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21829 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21830 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21832 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21833 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21834 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21835 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21836 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21837 your fancy split rule in this way:
21842 (to "larsi" "misc")
21846 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21847 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21848 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21849 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21850 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21852 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21853 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21854 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21855 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21856 cosmic balance somewhat.
21858 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21859 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21860 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21861 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21866 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21867 @cindex SpamAssassin
21868 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21871 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21872 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21873 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21874 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21875 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21876 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21877 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21879 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21880 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21881 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21882 Specifiers}) follows.
21886 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21889 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21892 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21893 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21894 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21897 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21901 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21904 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21905 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21909 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21910 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21911 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21912 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21915 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21917 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21919 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21920 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21922 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21924 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21925 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21929 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21930 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21931 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21934 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21935 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21937 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21938 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21939 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21943 @subsection Hashcash
21946 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21947 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21948 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21949 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21950 in smaller communities.
21952 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21953 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21954 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21955 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21956 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21957 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21958 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21959 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21960 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21961 one of them separately.
21964 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21965 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21966 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21967 header. For more details, and for the external application
21968 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21969 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21970 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21972 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21976 (require 'hashcash)
21977 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21980 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21981 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21982 development contrib directory.
21984 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21988 @item hashcash-default-payment
21989 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21990 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21991 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21992 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21994 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21995 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21996 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21997 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
21998 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
21999 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22000 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22001 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22002 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22006 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22010 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22011 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22012 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22013 a useful contribution, however.
22015 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22016 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22017 @cindex spam filtering
22020 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22021 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
22022 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22023 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
22026 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
22027 the following keyboard commands:
22037 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22038 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22040 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22041 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22042 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22043 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22049 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22050 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22052 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22058 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22059 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22062 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22063 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22064 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22065 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22066 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22067 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22068 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22069 will be detected later.
22071 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22072 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22073 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22074 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22075 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22076 by customizing the corresponding variable
22077 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22078 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22079 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22080 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22081 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22082 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22083 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22086 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22087 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
22088 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
22089 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
22090 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
22091 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
22092 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
22093 will study them as spam samples.
22095 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22096 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
22097 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22098 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22099 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22100 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22101 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22102 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
22104 @defvar spam-ham-marks
22105 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22106 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
22107 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
22110 @defvar spam-spam-marks
22111 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22112 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
22115 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22116 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22117 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22118 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22119 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22120 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22123 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22124 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22125 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22126 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22127 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22128 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22129 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22130 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22131 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
22132 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22133 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
22135 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22136 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22138 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22139 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22140 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22141 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22142 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22143 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22144 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
22145 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
22146 the spam articles are only expired.
22148 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22149 must add the following to your fancy split list
22150 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22156 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22157 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22158 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22160 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22161 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22162 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22163 but you can customize it.
22165 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22167 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22168 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22169 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
22170 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
22171 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
22172 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
22173 because it will slow IMAP down.
22175 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22177 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
22178 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
22179 longer spam or ham.}
22181 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22182 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22185 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
22186 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
22189 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22190 * BBDB Whitelists::
22192 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22194 * ifile spam filtering::
22195 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22196 * Extending the spam elisp package::
22199 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22200 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22201 @cindex spam filtering
22202 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22203 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22206 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22208 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22209 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22210 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22211 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22216 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22218 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22219 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22220 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22221 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22222 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22226 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22228 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22229 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22230 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22234 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22236 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22237 customizing the group parameters or the
22238 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22239 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22240 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22244 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22246 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22247 customizing the group parameters or the
22248 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22249 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22250 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22251 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22252 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22256 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22257 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22258 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22259 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22260 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22262 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22263 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22264 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22265 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22267 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22268 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22269 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22270 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22271 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22272 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22274 @node BBDB Whitelists
22275 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22276 @cindex spam filtering
22277 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22278 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22281 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22283 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22284 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22285 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22286 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22287 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22288 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22289 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22293 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22295 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22296 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22297 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22298 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22299 classified as spammers.
22303 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22305 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22306 customizing the group parameters or the
22307 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22308 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22309 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22310 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22311 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22316 @subsubsection Blackholes
22317 @cindex spam filtering
22318 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22321 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22323 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22324 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22325 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22326 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22327 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22328 contains outdated servers.
22330 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22331 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22332 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
22333 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
22334 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
22335 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22339 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22341 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22345 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22347 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22348 blackhole server list. When set to nil, it has no effect.
22352 @defvar spam-use-dig
22354 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22355 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22359 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22360 ham processor for blackholes.
22362 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22363 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22364 @cindex spam filtering
22365 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22368 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22370 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22371 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22372 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22373 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22374 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22375 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22379 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22381 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22382 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22386 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22388 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22389 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22393 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22394 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22397 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22398 @cindex spam filtering
22399 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22402 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22404 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22407 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22408 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22409 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22410 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22411 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22412 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22414 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
22415 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
22418 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22419 processing will be turned off.
22421 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22425 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22427 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22428 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22429 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22430 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22431 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22432 installation documents for details.
22434 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22438 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22439 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22440 customizing the group parameters or the
22441 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22442 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22443 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22446 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22447 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22448 customizing the group parameters or the
22449 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22450 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22451 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22452 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22453 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22456 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22458 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22459 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22460 database directory.
22464 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
22465 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22466 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22467 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22468 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22469 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
22471 @node ifile spam filtering
22472 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
22473 @cindex spam filtering
22474 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
22477 @defvar spam-use-ifile
22479 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
22480 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
22484 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
22486 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
22487 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
22488 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
22492 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
22494 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
22495 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
22496 the default value of @samp{spam}.
22499 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
22501 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
22502 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
22506 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
22507 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22508 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
22509 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
22512 @node spam-stat spam filtering
22513 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
22514 @cindex spam filtering
22515 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
22519 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
22521 @defvar spam-use-stat
22523 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
22524 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
22528 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
22529 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22530 customizing the group parameters or the
22531 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22532 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22533 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
22536 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
22537 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22538 customizing the group parameters or the
22539 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22540 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22541 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
22542 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22543 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22546 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
22547 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
22548 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
22549 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
22552 @node Extending the spam elisp package
22553 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
22554 @cindex spam filtering
22555 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
22556 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
22558 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
22559 incoming mail, provide the following:
22567 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
22568 "True if blackbox should be used.")
22573 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
22575 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
22580 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
22581 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
22582 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
22584 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
22585 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
22586 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
22590 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
22597 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
22598 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22601 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22602 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22603 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22605 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22606 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22607 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22615 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22616 (spam-generic-register-routine
22617 ;; the spam function
22619 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22620 (when (stringp from)
22621 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22622 ;; the ham function
22625 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22626 (spam-generic-register-routine
22627 ;; the spam function
22629 ;; the ham function
22631 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22632 (when (stringp from)
22633 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22636 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22637 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22638 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22639 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22640 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22641 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22646 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22647 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22648 @cindex Paul Graham
22649 @cindex Graham, Paul
22650 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22651 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22652 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22654 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22655 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22656 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22657 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22658 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22659 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22660 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22661 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22662 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22665 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22666 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22667 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22668 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22669 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22670 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22671 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22672 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22674 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22675 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22676 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22677 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22678 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22681 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22682 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22683 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22686 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22687 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22689 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22690 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22691 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22692 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22693 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22695 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22696 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22697 per mail. Use the following:
22699 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22700 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22701 is treated as one spam mail.
22704 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22705 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22706 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22709 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22710 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22711 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22712 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22713 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22714 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22716 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22717 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22718 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22719 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22720 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22723 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22724 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22725 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22726 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22729 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22730 reset the dictionary.
22732 @defun spam-stat-reset
22733 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22736 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22737 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22738 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22739 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22740 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22741 only non-spam mails.
22743 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22744 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22745 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22748 @defun spam-stat-save
22749 Save the dictionary.
22752 @defvar spam-stat-file
22753 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22754 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22757 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22758 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22760 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22761 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22764 (require 'spam-stat)
22768 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22771 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22772 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22773 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22774 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22776 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22777 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22778 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22779 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22782 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22783 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22787 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22788 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22791 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22792 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22793 expression are considered potential spam.
22796 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22797 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22798 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22802 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22803 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22804 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22805 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22806 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22809 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22810 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22811 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22815 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22816 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22817 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22818 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22819 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22823 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22824 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22825 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22826 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22831 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22832 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22834 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22836 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22837 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22838 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22841 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22842 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22843 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22846 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22847 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22848 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22849 already been processed as non-spam.
22852 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22853 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22854 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22855 been processed as spam.
22858 @defun spam-stat-save
22859 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22860 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22863 @defun spam-stat-load
22864 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22865 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22868 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22869 Return the spam score for a word.
22872 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22873 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22876 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22877 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22878 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22881 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22882 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22885 (require 'spam-stat)
22889 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22892 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22893 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22894 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22895 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22896 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22897 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22898 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22899 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22900 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22901 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22902 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22903 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22904 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22905 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22908 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22911 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22912 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22913 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22914 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22915 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22916 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22919 @node Various Various
22920 @section Various Various
22926 @item gnus-home-directory
22927 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22928 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22929 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22931 @item gnus-directory
22932 @vindex gnus-directory
22933 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22934 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22935 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22937 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22938 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22939 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22940 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22942 @item gnus-default-directory
22943 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22944 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22945 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22946 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22947 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22948 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22949 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22952 @vindex gnus-verbose
22953 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22954 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22955 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22956 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22957 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22959 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22960 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22961 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22962 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22964 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22965 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22966 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22967 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22968 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22969 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22970 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22971 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22972 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22973 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22975 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22976 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22977 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22978 read when doing the operation described above.
22980 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22981 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22983 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22984 @cindex characters in file names
22985 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22986 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22987 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22990 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22994 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22995 Windows (phooey) systems.
22997 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22998 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22999 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
23000 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
23001 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
23003 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
23004 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
23005 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
23006 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
23007 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
23009 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
23010 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
23011 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
23013 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23014 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23016 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
23017 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
23018 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
23019 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
23022 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23030 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23031 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23033 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23035 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
23041 Not because of victories @*
23044 but for the common sunshine,@*
23046 the largess of the spring.
23050 but for the day's work done@*
23051 as well as I was able;@*
23052 not for a seat upon the dais@*
23053 but at the common table.@*
23058 @chapter Appendices
23061 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
23062 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
23063 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
23064 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
23065 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
23066 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
23067 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
23068 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
23069 * Frequently Asked Questions::
23076 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
23078 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
23079 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
23080 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
23081 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
23082 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
23083 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
23090 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
23091 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
23093 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
23094 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
23095 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
23096 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
23097 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
23099 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
23100 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
23101 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
23102 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
23103 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
23104 appropriate name, don't you think?)
23106 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
23107 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
23108 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
23109 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
23112 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
23113 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
23114 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
23115 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
23116 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
23117 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
23118 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
23119 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
23120 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
23124 @node Gnus Versions
23125 @subsection Gnus Versions
23127 @cindex September Gnus
23129 @cindex Quassia Gnus
23130 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
23133 @cindex Gnus versions
23135 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
23136 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
23137 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
23139 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
23140 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
23142 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
23143 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
23145 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
23146 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
23148 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
23149 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
23152 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
23154 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
23155 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
23156 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
23157 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
23158 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
23159 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
23162 @node Other Gnus Versions
23163 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
23166 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
23167 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
23168 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
23169 @sc{mime} capabilities.
23171 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
23172 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
23173 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
23174 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
23181 What's the point of Gnus?
23183 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
23184 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
23185 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
23186 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
23187 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
23188 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
23189 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
23190 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
23191 keep track of millions of people who post?
23193 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
23194 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
23195 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
23196 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
23197 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
23198 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
23199 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
23200 every one of you to explore and invent.
23202 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
23203 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
23206 @node Compatibility
23207 @subsection Compatibility
23209 @cindex compatibility
23210 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23211 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23212 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23217 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23221 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23224 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23227 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23228 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23229 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23230 important variables have their values copied into their global
23231 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23232 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23234 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23235 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23236 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23237 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23238 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23242 @cindex highlighting
23243 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23244 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23245 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23246 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23247 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23248 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23251 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23252 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23253 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23254 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23256 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23257 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23258 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23259 to stop doing it the old way.
23261 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23263 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23265 @cindex reporting bugs
23267 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23268 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23269 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23271 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23272 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23273 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23274 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23279 @subsection Conformity
23281 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23282 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23290 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23294 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23296 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23297 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23298 We do have some breaches to this one.
23304 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23305 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23306 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23307 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23308 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23313 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23314 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23315 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23316 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23318 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23320 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
23322 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23323 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23325 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23328 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
23329 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
23330 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
23331 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
23332 decoding (verification and decryption).
23334 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23335 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23336 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23337 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23339 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23340 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
23342 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23343 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
23344 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
23345 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
23346 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
23347 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
23348 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
23352 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23353 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23358 @subsection Emacsen
23364 Gnus should work on :
23372 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
23376 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
23377 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
23378 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
23379 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
23380 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
23382 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
23383 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
23384 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
23388 @node Gnus Development
23389 @subsection Gnus Development
23391 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
23392 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
23393 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
23394 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
23395 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
23396 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
23397 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
23398 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
23400 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
23401 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
23402 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
23403 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
23404 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
23407 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
23408 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
23409 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
23410 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
23411 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
23413 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
23414 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
23415 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
23416 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
23417 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
23418 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
23419 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
23420 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
23421 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
23422 can't be assumed to do so.
23427 @subsection Contributors
23428 @cindex contributors
23430 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
23431 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
23432 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
23433 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
23434 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
23435 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
23436 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
23437 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
23438 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
23439 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
23441 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
23447 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
23450 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
23451 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
23452 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
23453 functionality and stuff.
23456 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
23457 well as numerous other things).
23460 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
23463 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
23466 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
23469 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
23472 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
23473 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
23476 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
23479 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
23480 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23483 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
23486 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
23489 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
23492 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
23495 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
23496 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
23499 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
23502 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
23505 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
23508 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
23512 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
23515 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
23518 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
23521 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
23522 well as autoconf support.
23526 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
23527 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
23529 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
23544 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
23546 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
23550 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
23560 Alexei V. Barantsev,
23575 Massimo Campostrini,
23580 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
23581 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
23585 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
23588 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
23594 Michael Welsh Duggan,
23599 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
23603 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
23611 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23613 Michelangelo Grigni,
23617 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23619 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
23621 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23628 François Felix Ingrand,
23629 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
23630 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23632 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23642 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23643 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23645 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23646 Thor Kristoffersen,
23649 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23667 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23668 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23675 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23680 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23684 John McClary Prevost,
23690 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23695 Christian von Roques,
23698 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23705 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23707 Randal L. Schwartz,
23721 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23726 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23746 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23747 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23748 (550kB and counting).
23750 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23753 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23754 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23758 @subsection New Features
23759 @cindex new features
23762 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23763 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23764 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23765 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23766 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23769 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23770 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23771 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23774 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23776 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23781 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23782 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23785 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23786 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23789 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23792 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23793 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23794 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23797 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23798 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23799 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23800 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23803 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23804 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23807 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23808 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23809 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23812 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23813 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23816 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23817 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23818 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23821 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23822 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23823 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23826 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
23827 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
23830 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23831 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23834 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23835 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23838 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23839 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23842 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23843 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23846 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23847 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23850 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23853 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23854 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23857 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23858 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23861 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23862 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23865 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23868 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23869 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23872 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23876 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23880 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23881 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23884 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23890 @node September Gnus
23891 @subsubsection September Gnus
23895 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23899 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23904 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23905 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23909 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23910 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23914 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23918 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23919 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23922 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23926 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23929 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23932 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23935 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23939 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23940 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23943 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23947 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23951 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23955 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23959 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23962 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23963 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23966 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23970 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23971 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23974 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23977 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23978 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23979 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23982 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23986 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23989 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23993 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23994 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23997 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23998 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
24001 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
24002 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
24005 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
24006 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
24007 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
24010 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
24011 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
24014 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
24017 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24020 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
24023 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
24026 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
24027 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
24030 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24034 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
24037 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
24042 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
24045 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
24049 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24052 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
24056 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
24059 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
24062 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
24063 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24066 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
24067 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
24071 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
24072 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
24075 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
24079 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
24080 buffer to allow easier treatment.
24083 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
24086 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
24090 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
24094 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
24095 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
24098 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
24102 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
24103 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24106 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
24107 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24110 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
24114 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24117 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
24120 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
24126 @subsubsection Red Gnus
24128 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
24132 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
24139 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
24142 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
24143 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24146 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
24147 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
24151 Article washing status can be displayed in the
24152 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
24155 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
24158 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
24159 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
24162 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
24166 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
24167 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
24171 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
24172 Server Internals}).
24175 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
24179 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
24182 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
24183 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
24186 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
24187 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
24188 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
24191 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
24192 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24195 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
24196 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
24199 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
24203 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
24204 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24207 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
24208 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24211 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24215 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24218 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24222 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24223 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24226 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24227 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24230 A new command for reading collections of documents
24231 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24232 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24235 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24239 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
24240 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24243 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24244 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24245 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24248 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24249 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24253 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24257 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24261 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24266 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24270 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24274 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24275 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24278 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24284 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24286 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24291 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24292 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
24293 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
24296 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24297 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24298 group, which is created automatically.
24301 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24305 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24308 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24309 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24312 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24316 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24319 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24320 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24323 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24326 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
24327 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
24330 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24331 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24334 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24335 control over simplification.
24338 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24341 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24345 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24348 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24351 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24352 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24353 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24356 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24357 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24360 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
24364 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
24365 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
24368 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
24369 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
24372 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
24376 A history of where mails have been split is available.
24379 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
24382 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
24383 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
24386 A new function for citing in Message has been
24387 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
24390 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
24393 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
24397 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
24398 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
24401 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
24402 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
24405 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
24408 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
24412 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
24413 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
24415 New features in Gnus 5.8:
24420 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
24421 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
24423 If you used procmail like in
24426 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
24427 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
24428 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
24429 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
24432 this now has changed to
24436 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
24440 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
24441 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
24444 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
24445 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
24448 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
24449 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
24452 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
24453 called to position point.
24456 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
24457 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
24460 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
24461 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
24464 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
24465 subtly different manner.
24468 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
24469 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
24470 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
24473 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
24481 @section The Manual
24485 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
24486 either @code{texi2dvi}
24488 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
24489 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
24491 to get what you hold in your hands now.
24493 The following conventions have been used:
24498 This is a @samp{string}
24501 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
24504 This is a @file{file}
24507 This is a @code{symbol}
24511 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
24515 (setq flargnoze "yes")
24518 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
24521 (setq flumphel 'yes)
24524 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
24525 ever get them confused.
24529 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
24530 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
24531 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
24532 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
24533 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
24534 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
24535 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
24541 @node On Writing Manuals
24542 @section On Writing Manuals
24544 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
24545 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
24546 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
24547 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
24548 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
24549 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
24552 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
24553 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
24554 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
24557 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
24558 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
24563 @section Terminology
24565 @cindex terminology
24570 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
24571 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
24572 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
24573 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
24574 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
24578 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
24579 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
24580 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
24581 not posting, and replying is not following up.
24585 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
24589 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
24594 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
24595 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
24596 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
24597 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
24598 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
24599 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
24600 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
24601 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
24602 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
24604 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
24605 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
24606 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
24607 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
24608 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
24611 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
24612 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
24613 access the articles.
24615 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24616 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24617 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24622 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24623 default, way of getting news.
24627 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24628 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24633 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24634 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24638 A message that has been posted as news.
24641 @cindex mail message
24642 A message that has been mailed.
24646 A mail message or news article
24650 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24655 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24660 A line from the head of an article.
24664 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24665 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
24669 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24670 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24671 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24672 normal @sc{head} format.
24676 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24677 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24678 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24679 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24680 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24681 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24683 @item killed groups
24684 @cindex killed groups
24685 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24686 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24688 @item zombie groups
24689 @cindex zombie groups
24690 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24693 @cindex active file
24694 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24695 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24696 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24699 @cindex bogus groups
24700 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24701 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24702 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24705 @cindex activating groups
24706 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24707 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24708 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24712 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24714 @item select method
24715 @cindex select method
24716 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24719 @item virtual server
24720 @cindex virtual server
24721 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24722 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24723 whole is a virtual server.
24727 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24728 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24731 @item ephemeral groups
24732 @cindex ephemeral groups
24733 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24734 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24735 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24738 @cindex solid groups
24739 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24740 group buffer are solid groups.
24742 @item sparse articles
24743 @cindex sparse articles
24744 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24745 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24749 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24750 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24754 @cindex thread root
24755 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24756 articles in the thread.
24760 An article that has responses.
24764 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24768 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24769 specified by RFC 1153.
24775 @node Customization
24776 @section Customization
24777 @cindex general customization
24779 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24780 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24781 for some quite common situations.
24784 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24785 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24786 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24787 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24791 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24792 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24794 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24795 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24796 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24800 @item gnus-read-active-file
24801 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24802 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24803 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24804 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24805 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24807 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24808 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24809 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24810 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24814 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24815 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24817 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24818 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24819 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24823 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24824 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24825 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24826 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24827 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24829 @item gnus-visible-headers
24830 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24831 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24832 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24833 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24835 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24837 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24838 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24839 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24842 @item gnus-use-full-window
24843 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24844 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24845 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24846 want to read them anyway.
24848 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24849 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24853 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24854 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24855 lines, which might save some time.
24859 @node Little Disk Space
24860 @subsection Little Disk Space
24863 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24864 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24868 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24869 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24870 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24871 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24874 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24875 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24876 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24877 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24880 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24881 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24882 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24883 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24884 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24890 @subsection Slow Machine
24891 @cindex slow machine
24893 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24894 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24896 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24897 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24899 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24900 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24901 summary buffer faster.
24905 @node Troubleshooting
24906 @section Troubleshooting
24907 @cindex troubleshooting
24909 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24917 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24920 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24921 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24925 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24926 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24927 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24928 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24929 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24932 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24936 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24937 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24938 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24939 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24940 something like that.
24943 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24946 @cindex reporting bugs
24948 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24950 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24951 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24952 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24953 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24955 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24956 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24957 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24958 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24961 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24962 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24963 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24964 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24965 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24966 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24968 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24969 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24970 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24974 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24975 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24978 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24979 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24980 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24981 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24982 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24983 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24984 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24985 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24986 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24987 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24988 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24989 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24990 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24991 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24996 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24997 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24998 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
24999 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
25000 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
25001 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
25002 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
25003 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
25004 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
25005 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET message}. Then perform
25006 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
25007 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
25008 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
25009 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
25010 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
25011 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
25012 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
25013 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
25015 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
25016 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
25018 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
25019 @cindex ding mailing list
25020 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@email{ding@@gnus.org}.
25021 Write to @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
25025 @node Gnus Reference Guide
25026 @section Gnus Reference Guide
25028 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
25029 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
25030 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
25031 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
25034 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
25035 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
25036 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
25037 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
25038 and general methods of operation.
25041 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
25042 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
25043 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
25044 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
25045 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
25046 * Group Info:: The group info format.
25047 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
25048 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
25049 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
25053 @node Gnus Utility Functions
25054 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
25055 @cindex Gnus utility functions
25056 @cindex utility functions
25058 @cindex internal variables
25060 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
25061 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
25062 Below is a list of the most common ones.
25066 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
25067 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
25068 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
25070 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
25071 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
25072 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
25074 @item gnus-group-real-name
25075 @findex gnus-group-real-name
25076 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
25079 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
25080 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
25081 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
25082 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
25084 @item gnus-get-info
25085 @findex gnus-get-info
25086 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
25088 @item gnus-group-unread
25089 @findex gnus-group-unread
25090 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
25094 @findex gnus-active
25095 The active entry for @var{group}.
25097 @item gnus-set-active
25098 @findex gnus-set-active
25099 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
25101 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25102 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25103 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
25106 @item gnus-continuum-version
25107 @findex gnus-continuum-version
25108 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
25109 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
25112 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
25113 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
25114 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
25116 @item gnus-news-group-p
25117 @findex gnus-news-group-p
25118 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
25120 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25121 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25122 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
25124 @item gnus-server-to-method
25125 @findex gnus-server-to-method
25126 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
25128 @item gnus-server-equal
25129 @findex gnus-server-equal
25130 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
25132 @item gnus-group-native-p
25133 @findex gnus-group-native-p
25134 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
25136 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
25137 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
25138 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
25140 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
25141 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
25142 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
25144 @item group-group-find-parameter
25145 @findex group-group-find-parameter
25146 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
25147 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
25149 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
25150 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
25151 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
25153 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
25154 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
25155 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
25157 @item gnus-check-backend-function
25158 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
25159 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
25160 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
25163 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
25167 @item gnus-read-method
25168 @findex gnus-read-method
25169 Prompts the user for a select method.
25174 @node Back End Interface
25175 @subsection Back End Interface
25177 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
25178 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
25179 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
25180 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
25181 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
25182 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
25184 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
25185 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
25186 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
25187 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
25188 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
25189 been opened, the function should fail.
25191 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
25192 name. Take this example:
25196 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
25197 (nntp-port-number 4324))
25200 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
25201 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
25203 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
25204 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
25205 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
25207 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
25208 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
25209 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
25211 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
25212 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
25213 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
25214 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
25215 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
25216 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
25219 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
25220 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
25221 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
25222 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
25225 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
25226 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
25227 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
25228 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
25229 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
25230 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
25231 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
25232 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
25233 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
25234 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
25236 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
25237 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
25238 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
25239 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
25240 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
25241 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
25242 of numbers as long as possible.
25244 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
25245 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
25246 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
25248 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
25251 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
25254 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
25255 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
25256 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
25257 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
25258 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
25259 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
25263 @node Required Back End Functions
25264 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
25268 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
25270 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
25271 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
25272 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
25273 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
25275 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
25276 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
25277 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
25278 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
25280 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
25281 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
25282 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
25283 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
25284 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
25285 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
25286 number, do maximum fetches.
25288 Here's an example HEAD:
25291 221 1056 Article retrieved.
25292 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
25293 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
25294 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
25295 Subject: Re: Something very droll
25296 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
25297 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
25299 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
25300 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
25301 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
25305 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
25306 these in the data buffer.
25308 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
25312 head = error / valid-head
25313 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
25314 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
25315 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
25316 header = <text> eol
25320 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
25322 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
25323 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
25327 nov-buffer = *nov-line
25328 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
25329 field = <text except TAB>
25332 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
25336 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
25338 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
25339 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
25341 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
25342 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
25343 server. In fact, it should do so.
25345 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
25346 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
25349 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
25351 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
25352 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
25355 There should be no data returned.
25358 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
25360 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
25361 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
25362 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
25363 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
25365 There should be no data returned.
25368 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
25370 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
25371 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
25372 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
25373 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
25375 There should be no data returned.
25378 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
25380 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
25382 There should be no data returned.
25385 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
25387 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
25388 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
25389 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
25390 it would be nice if that were possible.
25392 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
25393 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
25394 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
25395 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
25396 into its article buffer.
25398 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
25399 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
25400 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
25401 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
25402 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
25403 on successful article retrieval.
25406 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
25408 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
25409 making @var{group} the current group.
25411 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
25414 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
25417 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
25420 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
25421 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
25422 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
25423 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
25424 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
25425 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
25426 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
25427 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
25428 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
25432 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
25433 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
25434 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
25438 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25440 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
25441 a no-op on most back ends.
25443 There should be no data returned.
25446 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
25448 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
25451 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
25454 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
25455 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
25458 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
25459 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
25460 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
25461 and the highest as 0.
25464 active-file = *active-line
25465 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
25467 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
25470 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
25471 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
25472 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
25475 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
25477 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
25478 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
25479 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
25480 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
25481 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
25482 clear if the posting could not be completed.
25484 There should be no result data from this function.
25489 @node Optional Back End Functions
25490 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
25494 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
25496 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
25497 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
25498 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
25500 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
25501 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
25502 former is in the same format as the data from
25503 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
25504 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
25507 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
25511 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
25513 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
25514 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
25515 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
25516 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
25517 should return a non-nil value.
25519 There should be no result data from this function.
25522 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
25524 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
25525 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
25526 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
25527 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
25528 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
25529 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
25530 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
25531 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
25533 There should be no result data from this function.
25536 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
25538 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
25539 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
25540 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
25541 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
25542 propagate the mark information to the server.
25544 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
25547 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
25550 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
25551 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
25552 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
25553 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
25554 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
25555 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
25556 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
25557 possible, not limit itself to these.
25559 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
25560 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
25561 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
25562 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
25564 An example action list:
25567 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
25568 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
25569 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
25572 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
25573 mark on (currently not used for anything).
25575 There should be no result data from this function.
25577 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
25579 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
25580 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
25581 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
25582 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
25583 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
25585 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
25586 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
25587 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
25590 There should be no result data from this function.
25593 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
25595 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
25596 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
25597 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
25598 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
25599 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
25600 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
25601 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
25603 There should be no result data from this function.
25606 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
25608 The result data from this function should be a description of
25612 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
25614 description = <text>
25617 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25619 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25620 groups available on the server.
25623 description-buffer = *description-line
25627 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25629 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25630 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25631 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25632 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25633 in the active buffer format.
25635 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25636 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25637 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25638 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25639 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25640 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25641 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25644 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25646 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25648 There should be no return data.
25651 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25653 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25654 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25655 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25656 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25657 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25660 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25663 There should be no result data returned.
25666 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
25668 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25669 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25671 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25672 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25673 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25674 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25675 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25676 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25678 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25679 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25682 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25683 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25685 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25686 article for that group.
25688 There should be no data returned.
25691 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25693 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25694 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25695 this function in short order.
25697 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25698 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25700 There should be no data returned.
25703 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25705 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25706 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25708 There should be no data returned.
25711 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25713 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25714 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25715 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25717 There should be no data returned.
25720 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25722 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25723 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25725 There should be no data returned.
25730 @node Error Messaging
25731 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25733 @findex nnheader-report
25734 @findex nnheader-get-report
25735 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25736 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25737 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25738 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25739 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25740 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25743 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25745 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25748 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25749 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25750 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25751 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25753 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25754 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25755 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25758 @node Writing New Back Ends
25759 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25761 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25762 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25763 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25764 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25765 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25768 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25769 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25770 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25772 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25773 package called @code{nnoo}.
25775 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25776 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25782 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25783 parameters. For instance:
25786 (nnoo-declare nndir
25790 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25791 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25794 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25795 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25796 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25798 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25799 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25800 a function in those back ends.
25803 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25804 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25805 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25808 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25809 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25810 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25812 @item nnoo-define-basics
25813 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25817 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25821 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25822 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25823 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25825 @item nnoo-map-functions
25826 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25827 functions from the parent back ends.
25830 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25831 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25832 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25835 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25836 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25837 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25838 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25841 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25842 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25843 haven't already been defined.
25849 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25853 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25854 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25855 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25860 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25863 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25864 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25868 (require 'nnheader)
25872 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25874 (nnoo-declare nndir
25877 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25878 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25879 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25881 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25882 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25885 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25887 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25888 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25889 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25891 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25892 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25894 ;;; Interface functions.
25896 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25898 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25899 (setq nndir-directory
25900 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25902 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25903 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25904 (push `(nndir-current-group
25905 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25906 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25908 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25909 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25911 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25913 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25914 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25915 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25916 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25917 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25921 nnmh-status-message
25923 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25929 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25930 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25932 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25933 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25934 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25935 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25936 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25938 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25939 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25944 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25947 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25949 The abilities can be:
25953 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25955 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25957 This back end supports both mail and news.
25959 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25962 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25963 articles and groups.
25965 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25966 true for almost all back ends.
25967 @item prompt-address
25968 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25969 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25970 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25974 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25975 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25977 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25978 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25979 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25980 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25983 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25984 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25985 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25988 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25989 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25992 This function takes four parameters.
25996 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25999 @item exit-function
26000 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
26002 @item temp-directory
26003 Where the temporary files should be stored.
26006 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
26007 performed for one group only.
26010 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
26011 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
26012 find the article number assigned to this article.
26014 The function also uses the following variables:
26015 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
26016 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
26017 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
26018 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
26022 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
26023 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
26027 @node Score File Syntax
26028 @subsection Score File Syntax
26030 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
26031 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
26032 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
26034 Here's a typical score file:
26038 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
26045 BNF definition of a score file:
26048 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
26049 element = rule / atom
26050 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
26051 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
26052 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
26053 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
26055 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
26056 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
26057 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
26058 date-header = "date"
26059 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26060 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26061 score = "nil" / <integer>
26062 date = "nil" / <natural number>
26063 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
26064 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
26065 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
26066 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
26067 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26068 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26069 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
26070 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26071 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
26072 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
26073 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
26074 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
26075 exclude-files / read-only / touched
26076 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
26077 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
26078 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
26079 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
26080 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
26081 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
26082 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
26083 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
26084 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
26085 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
26086 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
26087 eval = "eval" space <form>
26088 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
26091 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
26094 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
26095 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
26096 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
26097 one looong line, then that's ok.
26099 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
26100 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26104 @subsection Headers
26106 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
26107 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
26108 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
26109 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
26111 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
26112 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
26113 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
26114 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
26115 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
26116 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
26117 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
26119 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
26120 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
26121 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
26122 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
26123 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
26125 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
26126 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
26132 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
26133 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
26135 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
26136 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
26137 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
26138 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
26140 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
26144 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
26147 is transformed into
26150 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
26153 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
26154 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
26157 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
26160 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
26161 is slightly tricky:
26164 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
26170 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
26173 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
26179 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
26186 and is equal to the previous range.
26188 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
26189 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
26190 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
26194 range = simple-range / normal-range
26195 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
26196 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
26197 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
26198 number *[ " " contents ]
26201 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
26202 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
26203 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
26204 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
26205 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
26210 @subsection Group Info
26212 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
26213 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
26214 describes the group.
26216 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
26217 second is a more complex one:
26220 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
26222 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
26223 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
26225 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
26228 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
26229 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
26230 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
26231 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
26232 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
26233 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
26234 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
26235 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
26236 this section is about.
26238 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
26239 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
26240 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
26242 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
26245 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
26246 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
26247 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26248 group = quote <string> quote
26249 ralevel = rank / level
26250 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26251 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
26252 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26254 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
26255 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
26256 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
26257 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
26260 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
26261 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
26264 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
26265 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
26268 @item gnus-info-group
26269 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
26270 @findex gnus-info-group
26271 @findex gnus-info-set-group
26272 Get/set the group name.
26274 @item gnus-info-rank
26275 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
26276 @findex gnus-info-rank
26277 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
26278 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
26280 @item gnus-info-level
26281 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
26282 @findex gnus-info-level
26283 @findex gnus-info-set-level
26284 Get/set the group level.
26286 @item gnus-info-score
26287 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
26288 @findex gnus-info-score
26289 @findex gnus-info-set-score
26290 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
26292 @item gnus-info-read
26293 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
26294 @findex gnus-info-read
26295 @findex gnus-info-set-read
26296 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
26298 @item gnus-info-marks
26299 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
26300 @findex gnus-info-marks
26301 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
26302 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
26304 @item gnus-info-method
26305 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
26306 @findex gnus-info-method
26307 @findex gnus-info-set-method
26308 Get/set the group select method.
26310 @item gnus-info-params
26311 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
26312 @findex gnus-info-params
26313 @findex gnus-info-set-params
26314 Get/set the group parameters.
26317 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
26318 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
26320 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
26321 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
26322 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
26323 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
26326 @node Extended Interactive
26327 @subsection Extended Interactive
26328 @cindex interactive
26329 @findex gnus-interactive
26331 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
26332 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
26333 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
26336 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
26337 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
26342 The best thing to do would have been to implement
26343 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
26344 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
26345 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
26346 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
26347 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
26348 @code{interactive}.
26350 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
26355 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
26356 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
26360 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
26361 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
26362 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
26365 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
26369 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
26373 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
26379 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
26380 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
26384 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
26385 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
26386 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
26388 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
26389 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
26390 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
26391 Gnus, that's very useful.
26393 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
26394 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
26395 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
26396 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
26397 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
26398 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
26399 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
26400 following function:
26403 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
26407 (,function ,@@args))
26411 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
26412 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
26413 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
26416 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
26417 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
26418 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
26420 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
26421 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
26422 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
26425 @node Various File Formats
26426 @subsection Various File Formats
26429 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
26430 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
26434 @node Active File Format
26435 @subsubsection Active File Format
26437 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
26438 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
26441 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
26444 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
26445 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
26446 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
26447 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
26448 no.general 1000 900 y
26451 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
26454 active = *group-line
26455 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
26456 group = <non-white-space string>
26458 high-number = <non-negative integer>
26459 low-number = <positive integer>
26460 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
26463 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
26464 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
26467 @node Newsgroups File Format
26468 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
26470 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
26471 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
26472 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
26475 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
26476 Here's the definition:
26480 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
26481 group = <non-white-space string>
26483 description = <string>
26488 @node Emacs for Heathens
26489 @section Emacs for Heathens
26491 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
26492 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
26493 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
26494 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
26495 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
26496 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
26497 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
26501 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
26502 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
26507 @subsection Keystrokes
26511 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
26514 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
26517 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
26518 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
26519 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
26520 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
26521 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
26522 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
26524 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
26525 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
26526 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
26527 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
26528 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
26529 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
26530 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
26532 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
26533 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
26534 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
26535 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
26536 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
26537 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
26538 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
26540 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
26541 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
26542 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
26543 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
26544 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
26550 @subsection Emacs Lisp
26552 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
26553 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
26554 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
26555 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
26557 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
26558 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
26559 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
26560 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
26561 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
26562 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
26563 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
26566 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
26567 write the following:
26570 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
26573 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
26574 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
26575 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
26578 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
26579 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
26580 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
26581 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
26582 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
26584 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
26585 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
26586 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
26590 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
26594 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
26597 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
26598 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
26601 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
26604 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
26605 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
26608 @include gnus-faq.texi
26628 @c Local Variables:
26630 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26632 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26633 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26634 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26635 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26636 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref