4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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286 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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295 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
297 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
300 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
301 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
302 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
303 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
304 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
305 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
306 License'' in the Emacs manual.
308 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
309 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
310 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
312 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
313 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
314 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
315 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
323 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
325 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
326 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
328 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
329 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
330 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
331 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
332 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
333 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
334 License'' in the Emacs manual.
336 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
337 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
338 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
340 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
341 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
342 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
343 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
349 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
351 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
354 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
357 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
359 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
360 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
361 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
362 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
363 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
364 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
365 License'' in the Emacs manual.
367 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
368 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
369 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
371 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
372 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
373 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
374 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
383 @top The gnus Newsreader
387 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using T-gnus. The news
388 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
389 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
392 T-gnus provides @acronym{MIME} features based on @acronym{SEMI} API. So
393 T-gnus supports your right to read strange messages including big images
394 or other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
395 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
396 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities. Oh,
397 if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
399 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
410 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
411 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
413 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
414 being accused of plagiarism:
416 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
417 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
418 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
419 can even read news with it!
421 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
422 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
423 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
424 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
425 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
431 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
432 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
433 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
434 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
435 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
436 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
437 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
438 * Various:: General purpose settings.
439 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
440 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
441 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
442 * Key Index:: Key Index.
444 Other related manuals
446 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
447 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
448 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
449 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
452 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
456 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
457 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
458 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
459 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
460 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
461 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
462 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
463 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
464 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
465 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
466 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
470 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
471 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
472 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
476 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
477 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
478 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
479 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
480 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
481 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
482 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
483 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
484 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
485 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
486 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
487 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
488 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
489 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
490 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
491 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
492 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
496 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
497 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
498 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
502 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
503 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
504 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
505 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
506 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
510 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
511 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
512 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
513 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
514 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
518 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
519 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
520 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
521 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
522 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
523 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
524 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
525 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
526 * Threading:: How threads are made.
527 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
528 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
529 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
530 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
531 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
532 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
533 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
534 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
535 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
536 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
537 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
538 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
539 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
540 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
541 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
542 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
543 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
544 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
545 or reselecting the current group.
546 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
547 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
548 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
549 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
551 Summary Buffer Format
553 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
554 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
555 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
556 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
560 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
561 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
563 Reply, Followup and Post
565 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
566 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
567 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
568 * Canceling and Superseding::
572 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
573 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
574 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
576 * Generic Marking Commands::
577 * Setting Process Marks::
581 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
582 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
583 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
587 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
588 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
590 Customizing Threading
592 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
593 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
594 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
595 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
599 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
600 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
601 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
602 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
603 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
604 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
608 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
609 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
610 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
614 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
615 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
616 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
617 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
618 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
619 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
620 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
621 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
622 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
623 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
624 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
626 Alternative Approaches
628 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
629 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
631 Various Summary Stuff
633 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
634 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
635 * Summary Generation Commands::
636 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
640 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
641 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
642 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
643 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
644 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
648 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
649 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
650 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
651 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
652 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
653 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
654 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
655 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
659 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
660 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
661 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
662 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
663 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
664 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
665 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
666 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
670 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
671 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
672 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
673 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
674 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
675 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
676 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
680 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
681 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
685 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
686 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
687 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
691 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
692 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
693 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
694 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
695 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
696 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
697 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
698 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
699 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
700 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
701 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
702 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
703 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
707 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
708 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
709 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
711 Choosing a Mail Back End
713 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
714 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
715 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
716 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
717 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
718 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
719 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
724 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
725 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
726 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
727 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
728 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
729 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
733 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
734 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
735 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
736 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
737 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
741 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
742 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
743 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
744 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
745 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
749 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
753 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
754 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
755 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
759 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
760 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
764 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
765 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
766 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
767 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
768 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
769 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
770 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
771 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
772 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
773 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
774 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
775 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
779 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
780 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
781 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
785 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
786 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
787 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
791 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
792 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
793 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
794 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
795 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
796 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
797 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
798 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
799 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
800 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
801 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
802 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
803 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
804 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
805 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
806 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
807 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
811 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
812 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
813 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
814 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
818 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
819 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
820 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
824 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
825 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
826 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
827 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
828 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
829 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
830 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
831 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
832 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
833 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
834 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
835 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
836 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
837 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
838 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
839 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
840 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
841 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
842 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
846 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
847 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
848 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
849 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
850 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
851 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
852 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
853 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
857 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
858 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
859 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
860 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
864 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
865 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
866 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
867 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
868 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
869 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
873 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
874 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
875 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
876 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
877 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
878 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
879 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
880 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
881 * Frequently Asked Questions::
885 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
886 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
887 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
888 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
889 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
890 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
891 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
892 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
893 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
897 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
898 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
899 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
900 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
901 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
905 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
906 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
907 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
908 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
912 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
913 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
914 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
915 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
916 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
917 * Group Info:: The group info format.
918 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
919 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
920 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
924 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
925 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
926 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
927 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
928 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
929 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
933 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
934 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
938 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
939 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
945 @chapter Starting gnus
950 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
951 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
954 @findex gnus-other-frame
955 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
956 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
957 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
959 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
960 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
961 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
963 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
964 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
967 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
968 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
969 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
970 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
971 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
972 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
973 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
974 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
975 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
976 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
977 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
981 @node Finding the News
982 @section Finding the News
985 @vindex gnus-select-method
987 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
988 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
989 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
990 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
993 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
994 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
997 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1000 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1003 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1006 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1007 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1008 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1010 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1012 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1013 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1014 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1015 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1016 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1017 If that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1018 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1020 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1021 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1022 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1023 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1025 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1026 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1027 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1028 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1029 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1030 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1031 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1032 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1033 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1036 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1038 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1039 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1040 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1041 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1042 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1043 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1045 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1047 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1048 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1049 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1050 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1051 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1052 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1055 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1056 you would typically set this variable to
1059 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1063 @node The First Time
1064 @section The First Time
1065 @cindex first time usage
1067 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1068 be subscribed by default.
1070 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1071 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1072 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1073 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1076 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1077 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1078 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1080 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1081 help you with most common problems.
1083 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1084 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1088 @node The Server is Down
1089 @section The Server is Down
1090 @cindex server errors
1092 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1093 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1094 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1096 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1097 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1098 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1099 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1100 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1101 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1102 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1104 @findex gnus-no-server
1105 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1107 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1108 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1109 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1110 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1111 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1112 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1113 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1117 @section Slave Gnusae
1120 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1121 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1122 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1123 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1125 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1126 @file{.newsrc} file.
1128 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1129 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1130 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1131 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1132 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1133 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1134 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1137 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1138 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1139 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1140 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1141 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1142 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1143 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1144 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1146 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1147 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1149 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1150 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1151 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1152 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1153 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1155 @node Fetching a Group
1156 @section Fetching a Group
1157 @cindex fetching a group
1159 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1160 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1161 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1162 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1163 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1164 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1170 @cindex subscription
1172 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1173 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1174 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1175 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1176 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1177 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1178 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1179 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1180 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1183 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1184 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1185 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1189 @node Checking New Groups
1190 @subsection Checking New Groups
1192 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1193 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1194 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1195 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1196 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1197 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1198 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1199 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1200 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1201 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1203 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1204 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1205 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1206 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1207 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1208 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1209 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1210 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1211 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1212 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1213 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1215 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1216 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1217 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1218 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1219 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1220 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1223 @node Subscription Methods
1224 @subsection Subscription Methods
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1227 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1228 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1230 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1231 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1233 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1239 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1240 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1241 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1245 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1246 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1250 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1254 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1255 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1256 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1257 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1258 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1259 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1260 up. Or something like that.
1262 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1263 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1264 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1265 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1266 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1268 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1270 Kill all new groups.
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1274 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1275 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1276 topic parameter that looks like
1282 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1285 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1290 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1291 A closely related variable is
1292 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1293 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1294 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1295 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1298 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1299 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1300 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1301 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1304 @node Filtering New Groups
1305 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1307 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1308 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1309 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1312 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1315 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1316 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1317 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1318 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1319 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1320 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1321 subscribing these groups.
1322 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1323 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1325 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1326 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1327 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1328 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1329 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1330 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1331 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1332 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1334 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1335 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1336 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1337 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1338 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1339 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1340 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1341 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1342 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1343 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1346 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1347 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1350 @node Changing Servers
1351 @section Changing Servers
1352 @cindex changing servers
1354 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1355 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1356 very flaky and you want to use another.
1358 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1359 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1363 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1364 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1365 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1366 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1369 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1370 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1371 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1372 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1374 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1375 @findex gnus-change-server
1376 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1377 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1378 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1379 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1380 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1382 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1383 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1384 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1385 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1386 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1388 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1389 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1390 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1391 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1392 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1393 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1395 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1396 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1397 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1398 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1400 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1401 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1402 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1403 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1404 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1405 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1406 cache for all groups).
1410 @section Startup Files
1411 @cindex startup files
1416 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1417 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1419 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1420 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1421 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1422 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1423 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1424 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1425 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1427 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1428 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1429 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1430 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1431 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1432 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1434 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1435 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1436 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1437 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1438 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1439 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1440 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1441 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1442 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1443 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1445 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1446 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1447 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1448 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1449 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1450 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1451 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1452 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1453 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1454 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1455 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1456 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1458 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1459 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1460 @vindex version-control
1461 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1462 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1463 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1464 If you want version control for this file, set
1465 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1466 @code{version-control} variable.
1468 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1469 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1470 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1471 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1472 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1473 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1474 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1475 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1476 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1477 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1480 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1481 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1483 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1484 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1487 @vindex gnus-init-file
1488 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1489 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1490 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1491 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1492 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1493 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1494 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1495 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1496 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1497 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1503 @cindex dribble file
1506 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1507 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1508 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1509 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1510 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1513 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1514 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1517 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1518 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1519 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1521 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1522 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1523 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1524 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1525 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1526 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1528 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1529 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1530 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1533 @node The Active File
1534 @section The Active File
1536 @cindex ignored groups
1538 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1539 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1540 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1542 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1543 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1544 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1545 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1546 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1547 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1548 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1551 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1552 @c if you set it to anything else.
1554 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1556 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1557 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1558 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1560 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1561 you actually subscribe to.
1563 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1564 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1565 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1566 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1568 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1569 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1570 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1571 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1572 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1573 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1575 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1576 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1577 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1580 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1581 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1582 @acronym{NNTP} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1583 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1584 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1585 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1587 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1588 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1590 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1591 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1593 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1594 secondary select methods.
1597 @node Startup Variables
1598 @section Startup Variables
1602 @item gnus-load-hook
1603 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1604 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1605 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1606 times you start gnus.
1608 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1609 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1610 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1612 @item gnus-startup-hook
1613 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1614 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1616 @item gnus-started-hook
1617 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1618 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1621 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1622 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1623 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1624 generating the group buffer.
1626 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1627 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1628 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1629 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1630 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1631 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1632 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1633 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1635 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1636 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1637 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1638 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1639 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1640 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1642 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1643 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1644 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1646 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1647 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1648 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1650 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1651 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1652 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1653 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1659 @chapter Group Buffer
1660 @cindex group buffer
1662 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1664 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1665 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1666 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1667 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1668 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1669 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1670 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1671 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1672 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1673 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1674 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1675 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1676 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1677 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1678 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1679 @c human rights at 9...
1682 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1683 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1684 long as gnus is active.
1688 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1689 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1690 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1691 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1692 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1693 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1694 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1695 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1701 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1702 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1703 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1704 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1705 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1706 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1707 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1708 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1709 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1710 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1711 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1712 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1713 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1714 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1715 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1716 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1717 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1721 @node Group Buffer Format
1722 @section Group Buffer Format
1725 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1726 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1727 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1731 @node Group Line Specification
1732 @subsection Group Line Specification
1733 @cindex group buffer format
1735 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1736 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1738 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1741 25: news.announce.newusers
1742 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1747 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1748 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1749 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1750 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1752 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1753 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1754 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1755 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1756 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1757 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1759 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1761 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1762 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1763 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1764 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1765 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1767 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1768 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1769 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1771 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1776 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1779 Whether the group is subscribed.
1782 Level of subscribedness.
1785 Number of unread articles.
1788 Number of dormant articles.
1791 Number of ticked articles.
1794 Number of read articles.
1797 Number of unseen articles.
1800 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1801 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1803 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1804 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1805 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1806 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1807 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1808 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1809 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1810 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1813 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1816 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1825 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1826 comment element in the group parameters.
1829 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1830 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1831 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1835 @samp{m} if moderated.
1838 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1844 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1850 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1854 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1857 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1858 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1859 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1860 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1861 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1864 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1866 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1870 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1873 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1877 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1878 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1879 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1880 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1881 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1882 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1887 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1888 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1889 group, or a bogus native group.
1892 @node Group Modeline Specification
1893 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1894 @cindex group modeline
1896 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1897 The mode line can be changed by setting
1898 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1899 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1903 The native news server.
1905 The native select method.
1909 @node Group Highlighting
1910 @subsection Group Highlighting
1911 @cindex highlighting
1912 @cindex group highlighting
1914 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1915 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1916 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1917 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1918 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1920 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1924 (cond (window-system
1925 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1926 (defface my-group-face-1
1927 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1928 (defface my-group-face-2
1929 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1930 (defface my-group-face-3
1931 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1932 (defface my-group-face-4
1933 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1934 (defface my-group-face-5
1935 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1937 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1938 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1939 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1940 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1941 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1942 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1945 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1947 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1954 The number of unread articles in the group.
1958 Whether the group is a mail group.
1960 The level of the group.
1962 The score of the group.
1964 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1966 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1967 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1969 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1970 topic being inserted.
1973 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1974 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1975 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1977 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1978 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1979 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1980 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1981 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1984 @node Group Maneuvering
1985 @section Group Maneuvering
1986 @cindex group movement
1988 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1989 expected, hopefully.
1995 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1996 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1997 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2004 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2005 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2009 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2010 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2015 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2019 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2020 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2021 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2025 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2026 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2027 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2030 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2036 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2037 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2038 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2043 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2044 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2045 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2049 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2050 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2051 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2054 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2055 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2056 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2057 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2061 @node Selecting a Group
2062 @section Selecting a Group
2063 @cindex group selection
2068 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2069 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2070 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2071 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2072 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2073 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2074 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2075 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2076 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2077 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2079 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2080 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2081 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2083 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2084 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2089 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2090 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2091 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2092 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2093 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2097 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2098 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2099 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2100 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2101 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2102 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2103 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2104 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2105 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2106 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2109 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2110 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2111 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2112 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2113 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2116 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2117 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2118 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2119 doing any processing of its contents
2120 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2121 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2122 manner will have no permanent effects.
2126 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2127 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2128 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2129 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2130 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2131 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2132 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2133 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2136 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2137 Same as @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but only used for ephemeral
2140 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2141 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2142 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2143 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2144 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2145 Which article this is is controlled by the
2146 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2152 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2155 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2158 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2160 @item unseen-or-unread
2161 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2162 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2166 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2170 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2171 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2173 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2174 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2175 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2176 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2180 @node Subscription Commands
2181 @section Subscription Commands
2182 @cindex subscription
2190 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2191 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2192 Toggle subscription to the current group
2193 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2199 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2200 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2201 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2202 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2208 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2209 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2210 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2216 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2217 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2220 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2221 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2222 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2223 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2224 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2230 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2231 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2236 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2239 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2240 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2241 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2242 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2243 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2244 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2245 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2246 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2247 @file{.newsrc} file.
2251 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2261 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2262 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2263 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2264 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2265 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2266 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2271 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2272 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2273 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2277 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2278 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2279 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2281 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2282 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2283 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2284 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2285 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2286 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2293 @section Group Levels
2297 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2298 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2299 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2300 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2301 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2303 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2309 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2310 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2311 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2312 prompted for a level.
2315 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2316 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2317 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2318 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2319 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2320 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2321 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2322 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2323 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2324 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2325 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2326 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2327 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2328 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2329 reasons of efficiency.
2331 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2332 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2334 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2335 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2336 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2337 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2338 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2339 groups are hidden, in a way.
2341 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2342 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2343 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2344 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2345 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2346 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2348 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2349 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2350 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2351 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2352 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2353 list of killed groups.)
2355 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2356 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2357 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2359 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2360 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2361 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2362 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2363 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2364 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2365 relevant valid ranges.
2367 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2368 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2369 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2370 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2371 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2372 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2375 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2376 one with the best level.
2378 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2379 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2380 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2383 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2384 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2385 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2386 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2389 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2390 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2391 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2392 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2394 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2395 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2396 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2397 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2398 to 5. The default is 6.
2402 @section Group Score
2407 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2408 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2409 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2412 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2413 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2414 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2415 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2416 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2417 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2418 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2419 least significant part.))
2421 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2422 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2423 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2424 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2425 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2426 action after each summary exit, you can add
2427 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2428 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2429 slow things down somewhat.
2432 @node Marking Groups
2433 @section Marking Groups
2434 @cindex marking groups
2436 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2437 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2438 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2439 bidding on those groups.
2441 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2442 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2443 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2451 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2452 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2458 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2459 Remove the mark from the current group
2460 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2464 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2465 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2469 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2470 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2474 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2475 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2479 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2480 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2481 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2484 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2486 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2487 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2488 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2489 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2490 the command to be executed.
2493 @node Foreign Groups
2494 @section Foreign Groups
2495 @cindex foreign groups
2497 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2498 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2499 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2500 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2507 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2508 @cindex making groups
2509 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2510 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2511 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2515 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2516 @cindex renaming groups
2517 Rename the current group to something else
2518 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2519 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2525 @findex gnus-group-customize
2526 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2530 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2531 @cindex renaming groups
2532 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2533 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2538 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2539 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2543 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2544 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2545 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2549 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2551 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2552 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2557 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2558 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2562 @cindex (ding) archive
2563 @cindex archive group
2564 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2565 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2566 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2567 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2568 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2569 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2570 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2574 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2576 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2577 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2578 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2579 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2583 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2585 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2586 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2587 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2591 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2592 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2594 Make a group based on some file or other
2595 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2596 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2597 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2598 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2599 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2600 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2601 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2602 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2603 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2607 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2608 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2609 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2610 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2614 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2618 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2619 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2620 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2621 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2622 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2623 @xref{Web Searches}.
2625 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2626 to a particular group by using a match string like
2627 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2630 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2631 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2632 This function will delete the current group
2633 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2634 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2635 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2636 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2637 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2641 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2642 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2643 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2647 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2648 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2649 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2652 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2655 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2656 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2657 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2658 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2659 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2660 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2664 @node Group Parameters
2665 @section Group Parameters
2666 @cindex group parameters
2668 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2669 Here's an example group parameter list:
2672 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2676 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2677 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2678 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2679 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2681 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2682 is an alist of regexps and values.
2684 The following group parameters can be used:
2689 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2692 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2695 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2696 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2697 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2698 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2699 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2701 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2702 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2703 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2704 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2705 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2706 list address instead.
2708 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2712 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2715 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2718 It is totally ignored
2719 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2720 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2722 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2723 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2724 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2725 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2726 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2728 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2729 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2730 sending the message.
2732 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2733 @cindex Mail List Groups
2734 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2735 entering summary buffer.
2737 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2742 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2743 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2744 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2745 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2746 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{Mailing
2747 Lists, , Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual} for a complete
2748 treatment of available MFT support.
2750 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2751 directly uses this group parameter.
2755 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2756 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2757 of whether it has any unread articles.
2759 @item broken-reply-to
2760 @cindex broken-reply-to
2761 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2762 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2763 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2764 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2765 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2766 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2770 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2771 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2775 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2776 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2777 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2782 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2783 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2784 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2785 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2786 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2787 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2788 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2789 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2790 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2794 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2795 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2796 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2798 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2801 @cindex total-expire
2802 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2803 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2804 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2805 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2808 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2812 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2813 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2814 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2815 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2816 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2817 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2818 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2821 @cindex score file group parameter
2822 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2823 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2824 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2827 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2828 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2829 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2830 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2833 @cindex admin-address
2834 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2835 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2836 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2837 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2841 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2842 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2846 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2849 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2850 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2853 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2857 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2859 Here are some examples:
2863 Display only unread articles.
2866 Display everything except expirable articles.
2868 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2869 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2873 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2874 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2875 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2876 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2877 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2881 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2882 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2883 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2887 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2888 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2889 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2893 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2894 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2895 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2897 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2899 @item ignored-charsets
2900 @cindex ignored-charset
2901 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2902 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2903 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2905 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2908 @cindex posting-style
2909 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2910 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2911 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2912 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2913 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2915 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2916 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2917 like this in the group parameters:
2922 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2923 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2928 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2929 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2933 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2934 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2935 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2936 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2937 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2941 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2942 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2943 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2944 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2946 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2947 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2948 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2949 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2952 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2953 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2957 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2960 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2961 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2962 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2963 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2964 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2965 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2966 @code{eval}ed there.
2968 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
2969 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
2970 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
2971 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
2972 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
2973 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
2974 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
2975 @file{~/.gnus} file:
2977 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
2980 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2981 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2982 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2983 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2984 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2985 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2986 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2987 parameters for the group.
2989 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2990 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2991 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2992 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2993 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2997 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2998 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2999 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3000 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3001 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3003 @vindex gnus-parameters
3004 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3005 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3009 (setq gnus-parameters
3011 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3012 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3013 (gnus-summary-line-format
3014 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3018 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3022 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3026 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3029 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3030 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3033 @node Listing Groups
3034 @section Listing Groups
3035 @cindex group listing
3037 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3045 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3046 List all groups that have unread articles
3047 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3048 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3049 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3050 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3057 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3058 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3059 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3060 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3061 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3062 unsubscribed groups).
3066 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3067 List all unread groups on a specific level
3068 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3069 with no unread articles.
3073 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3074 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3075 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3076 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3081 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3082 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3086 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3087 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3088 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3092 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3093 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3097 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3098 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3099 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3100 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3101 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3102 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3103 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3104 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3108 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3109 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3110 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3114 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3115 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3116 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3120 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3121 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3125 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3126 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3130 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3131 List groups limited within the current selection
3132 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3136 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3137 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3141 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3142 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3146 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3147 @cindex visible group parameter
3148 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3149 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3150 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3151 get the same effect.
3153 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3154 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3155 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3156 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3157 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3160 @node Sorting Groups
3161 @section Sorting Groups
3162 @cindex sorting groups
3164 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3166 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3167 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3168 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3169 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3174 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3175 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3176 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3178 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3179 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3180 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3182 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3183 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3184 Sort by group level.
3186 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3187 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3188 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3190 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3191 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3192 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3193 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3195 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3196 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3197 Sort by number of unread articles.
3199 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3201 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3203 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3204 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3205 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3210 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3211 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3215 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3216 some sorting criteria:
3220 @kindex G S a (Group)
3221 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3222 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3223 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3226 @kindex G S u (Group)
3227 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3228 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3229 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3232 @kindex G S l (Group)
3233 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3234 Sort the group buffer by group level
3235 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3238 @kindex G S v (Group)
3239 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3240 Sort the group buffer by group score
3241 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3244 @kindex G S r (Group)
3245 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3246 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3247 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3250 @kindex G S m (Group)
3251 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3252 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3253 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3256 @kindex G S n (Group)
3257 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3258 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3259 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3263 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3264 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3266 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3267 commands will sort in reverse order.
3269 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3273 @kindex G P a (Group)
3274 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3275 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3276 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3279 @kindex G P u (Group)
3280 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3281 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3282 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3285 @kindex G P l (Group)
3286 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3287 Sort the groups by group level
3288 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3291 @kindex G P v (Group)
3292 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3293 Sort the groups by group score
3294 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3297 @kindex G P r (Group)
3298 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3299 Sort the groups by group rank
3300 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3303 @kindex G P m (Group)
3304 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3305 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3306 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3309 @kindex G P n (Group)
3310 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3311 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3312 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3315 @kindex G P s (Group)
3316 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3317 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3321 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3325 @node Group Maintenance
3326 @section Group Maintenance
3327 @cindex bogus groups
3332 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3333 Find bogus groups and delete them
3334 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3338 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3339 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3340 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3341 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3342 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3346 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3347 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3348 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3349 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3350 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3351 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3354 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3355 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3356 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3357 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3362 @node Browse Foreign Server
3363 @section Browse Foreign Server
3364 @cindex foreign servers
3365 @cindex browsing servers
3370 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3371 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3372 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3373 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3376 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3377 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3378 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3379 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3381 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3386 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3387 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3391 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3392 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3395 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3396 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3397 Enter the current group and display the first article
3398 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3401 @kindex RET (Browse)
3402 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3403 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3407 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3408 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3409 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3415 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3416 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3420 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3421 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3425 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3426 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3427 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3432 @section Exiting gnus
3433 @cindex exiting gnus
3435 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3440 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3441 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3442 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3443 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3447 @findex gnus-group-exit
3448 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3449 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3453 @findex gnus-group-quit
3454 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3455 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3458 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3459 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3460 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3461 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3462 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3463 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3469 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3470 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3471 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3477 @section Group Topics
3480 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3481 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3482 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3483 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3484 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3485 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3489 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3490 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3501 2: alt.religion.emacs
3504 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3506 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3507 13: comp.sources.unix
3510 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3512 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3513 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3514 is a toggling command.)
3516 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3517 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3518 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3519 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3522 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3523 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3524 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3527 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3531 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3532 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3533 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3534 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3535 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3539 @node Topic Commands
3540 @subsection Topic Commands
3541 @cindex topic commands
3543 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3544 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3545 definitions slightly.
3547 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3548 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3549 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3550 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3551 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3552 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3554 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3561 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3562 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3563 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3567 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3569 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3570 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3571 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3572 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3575 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3576 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3577 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3578 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3582 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3583 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3584 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3585 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3591 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3592 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3593 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3597 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3598 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3599 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3602 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3603 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3604 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3605 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3606 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3608 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3609 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3613 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3614 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3621 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3623 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3624 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3625 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3626 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3627 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3628 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3632 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3638 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3639 Move the current group to some other topic
3640 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3641 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3645 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3646 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3650 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3651 Copy the current group to some other topic
3652 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3653 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3657 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3658 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3659 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3663 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3664 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3665 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3669 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3670 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3671 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3672 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3673 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3674 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3675 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3678 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3679 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3683 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3684 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3685 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3689 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3690 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3691 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3695 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3696 Toggle hiding empty topics
3697 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3701 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3702 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3703 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3704 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3707 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3709 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3710 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3711 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3714 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3715 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3716 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3717 expiry process (if any)
3718 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3722 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3723 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3726 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3727 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3728 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3732 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3733 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3734 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3737 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3738 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3739 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3742 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3743 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3744 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3748 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3749 @cindex group parameters
3750 @cindex topic parameters
3752 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3753 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3758 @node Topic Variables
3759 @subsection Topic Variables
3760 @cindex topic variables
3762 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3763 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3765 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3766 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3767 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3780 Number of groups in the topic.
3782 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3784 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3787 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3788 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3789 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3792 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3793 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3795 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3796 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3797 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3801 @subsection Topic Sorting
3802 @cindex topic sorting
3804 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3810 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3811 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3812 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3813 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3816 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3817 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3818 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3819 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3822 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3823 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3824 Sort the current topic by group level
3825 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3828 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3829 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3830 Sort the current topic by group score
3831 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3834 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3835 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3836 Sort the current topic by group rank
3837 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3840 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3841 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3842 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3843 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3846 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3847 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3848 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3849 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3853 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3854 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3855 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3856 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3860 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3861 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3865 @node Topic Topology
3866 @subsection Topic Topology
3867 @cindex topic topology
3870 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3876 2: alt.religion.emacs
3879 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3881 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3882 13: comp.sources.unix
3885 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3886 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3887 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3892 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3893 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3897 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3898 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3899 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3900 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3901 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3902 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3904 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3905 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3906 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3909 @node Topic Parameters
3910 @subsection Topic Parameters
3911 @cindex topic parameters
3913 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3914 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3915 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3917 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3922 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3923 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3924 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3927 @item subscribe-level
3928 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3929 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3930 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3934 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3935 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3936 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3937 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3943 2: alt.religion.emacs
3947 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3949 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3950 13: comp.sources.unix
3954 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3955 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3956 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3957 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3958 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3959 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3961 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3962 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3963 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3964 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3965 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3967 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3968 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3969 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3970 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3971 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3972 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3973 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3974 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3977 @node Misc Group Stuff
3978 @section Misc Group Stuff
3981 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3982 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3983 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3984 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3985 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3992 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3993 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3994 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3998 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3999 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4000 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4001 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4002 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4003 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4004 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4008 @findex gnus-group-mail
4009 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4010 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4011 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4012 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4016 @findex gnus-group-news
4017 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4018 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4019 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4021 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4022 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4023 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4024 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4025 for this to work though.
4029 Variables for the group buffer:
4033 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4034 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4035 is called after the group buffer has been
4038 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4039 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4040 is called after the group buffer is
4041 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4044 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4045 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4046 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4047 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4049 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4050 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4051 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4052 whether they are empty or not.
4054 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4055 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4056 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4057 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4061 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4062 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4065 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4066 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4067 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4068 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4069 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4070 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4071 default is @code{nil}.
4075 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4076 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4081 @node Scanning New Messages
4082 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4083 @cindex new messages
4084 @cindex scanning new news
4090 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4091 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4092 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4093 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4094 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4095 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4100 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4101 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4102 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4103 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4104 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4105 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4106 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4108 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4109 @cindex activating groups
4111 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4112 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4117 @findex gnus-group-restart
4118 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4119 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4120 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4124 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4125 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4127 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4128 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4132 @node Group Information
4133 @subsection Group Information
4134 @cindex group information
4135 @cindex information on groups
4142 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4143 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4146 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4147 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4148 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4149 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4150 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4151 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4152 used for fetching the file.
4154 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4155 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4159 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4160 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4162 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4163 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4166 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4167 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4168 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4172 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4173 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4174 @cindex control message
4175 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4176 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4177 group if given a prefix argument.
4179 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4180 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4181 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4182 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4184 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4185 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4186 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4190 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4192 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4193 @cindex describing groups
4194 @cindex group description
4195 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4196 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4197 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4201 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4202 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4203 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4210 @findex gnus-version
4211 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4215 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4216 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4219 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4222 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4223 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4227 @node Group Timestamp
4228 @subsection Group Timestamp
4230 @cindex group timestamps
4232 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4233 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4234 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4237 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4240 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4242 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4243 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4246 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4247 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4250 This will result in lines looking like:
4253 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4254 0: custom 19961002T012713
4257 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4258 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4262 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4263 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4266 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4267 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4271 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4272 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4273 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4274 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4276 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4282 @subsection File Commands
4283 @cindex file commands
4289 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4290 @vindex gnus-init-file
4291 @cindex reading init file
4292 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4293 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4297 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4298 @cindex saving .newsrc
4299 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4300 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4301 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4304 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4305 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4306 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4311 @node Sieve Commands
4312 @subsection Sieve Commands
4313 @cindex group sieve commands
4315 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4316 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4317 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4318 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4319 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4321 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4322 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4323 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4324 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4325 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4326 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4327 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4328 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4329 regenerate the Sieve script.
4331 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4332 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4333 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4334 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4335 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4336 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4337 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4338 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4339 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4340 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4343 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4344 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4349 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4355 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4356 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4357 @cindex generating sieve script
4358 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4359 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4363 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4364 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4365 @cindex updating sieve script
4366 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4367 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4368 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4373 @node Summary Buffer
4374 @chapter Summary Buffer
4375 @cindex summary buffer
4377 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4378 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4380 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4381 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4383 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4386 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4387 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4388 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4389 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4390 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4391 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4392 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4393 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4394 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4395 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4396 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4397 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4398 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4399 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4400 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4401 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4402 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4403 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4404 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4405 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4406 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4407 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4408 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4409 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4410 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4411 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4412 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4413 or reselecting the current group.
4414 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4415 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4416 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4417 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4421 @node Summary Buffer Format
4422 @section Summary Buffer Format
4423 @cindex summary buffer format
4427 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4428 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4429 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4435 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4436 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4437 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4438 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4441 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4442 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4443 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4444 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4445 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4446 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4447 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4448 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4449 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4450 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4451 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4452 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4453 other function instead:
4456 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4457 'mail-extract-address-components)
4460 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4461 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4462 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4463 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4466 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4467 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4469 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4470 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4471 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4472 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4473 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4475 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4476 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4477 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4478 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4479 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4480 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4482 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4484 The following format specification characters and extended format
4485 specification(s) are understood:
4491 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4492 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4494 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4495 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4496 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4498 Full @code{From} header.
4500 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4502 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4505 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4506 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4507 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4508 may be more thorough.
4510 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4513 Number of lines in the article.
4515 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4516 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4518 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4519 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4521 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4523 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4524 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4537 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4538 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4539 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4540 line-drawing glyphs.
4542 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4543 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4544 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4545 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4547 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4548 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4549 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4550 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4552 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4553 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4554 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4555 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4557 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4558 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4559 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4561 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4562 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4563 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4565 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4566 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4567 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4569 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4570 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4571 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4576 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4577 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4579 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4580 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4582 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4583 for adopted articles.
4585 One space for each thread level.
4587 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4589 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4592 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4593 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4594 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4597 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4599 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4600 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4601 default level. If the difference between
4602 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4603 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4611 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4613 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4619 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4620 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4622 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4623 article has any children.
4629 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4630 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4632 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4633 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4634 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4635 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4636 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4637 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4640 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4641 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4642 There can only be one such area.
4644 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4645 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4646 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4647 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4648 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4649 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4651 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4652 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4654 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4657 @node To From Newsgroups
4658 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4662 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4663 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4664 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4665 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4666 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4670 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4671 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4672 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4676 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4677 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4680 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4681 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4684 @findex gnus-extra-header
4685 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4686 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4687 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4690 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4694 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4695 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4696 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4697 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4698 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4699 headers are used instead.
4703 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4704 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4705 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4706 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4707 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4708 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4711 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4712 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4713 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4714 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4716 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4720 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4722 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4723 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4724 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4725 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4729 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4732 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4733 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4736 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4737 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4738 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4744 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4745 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4748 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4749 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4751 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4752 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4753 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4754 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4756 Here are the elements you can play with:
4762 Unprefixed group name.
4764 Current article number.
4766 Current article score.
4770 Number of unread articles in this group.
4772 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4775 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4776 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4777 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4778 and no unselected ones.
4780 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4781 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4783 Subject of the current article.
4785 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4787 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4789 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4791 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4793 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4795 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4799 @node Summary Highlighting
4800 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4804 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4805 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4806 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4807 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4808 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4810 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4811 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4812 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4813 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4815 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4816 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4817 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4818 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4820 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4821 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4822 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4823 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4824 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4825 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4828 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4829 ((> score default) . bold))
4831 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4832 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4836 @node Summary Maneuvering
4837 @section Summary Maneuvering
4838 @cindex summary movement
4840 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4841 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4843 None of these commands select articles.
4848 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4849 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4850 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4851 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4852 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4856 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4857 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4859 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4860 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4863 @kindex G g (Summary)
4864 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4865 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4866 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4869 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4870 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4871 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4872 to the group buffer.
4874 Variables related to summary movement:
4878 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4879 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4880 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4881 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4882 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4883 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4884 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4885 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4886 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4887 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4888 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4889 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4890 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4891 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4893 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4894 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4895 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4896 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4897 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4898 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4899 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4901 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4903 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4904 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4905 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4906 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4907 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4909 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4910 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4911 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4912 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4913 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4914 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4915 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4916 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4919 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4920 the given number of lines from the top.
4925 @node Choosing Articles
4926 @section Choosing Articles
4927 @cindex selecting articles
4930 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4931 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4935 @node Choosing Commands
4936 @subsection Choosing Commands
4938 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4939 and they all select and display an article.
4941 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4942 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4946 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4947 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4948 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4949 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4951 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4952 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4953 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4958 @kindex G n (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4960 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4961 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4966 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4967 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4968 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4973 @kindex G N (Summary)
4974 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4975 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4980 @kindex G P (Summary)
4981 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4982 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4985 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4987 Go to the next article with the same subject
4988 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4991 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4992 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4993 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4994 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4998 @kindex G f (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5001 Go to the first unread article
5002 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5006 @kindex G b (Summary)
5008 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5009 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5010 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5011 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5016 @kindex G l (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5018 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5021 @kindex G o (Summary)
5022 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5024 @cindex article history
5025 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5026 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5027 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5028 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5029 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5030 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5035 @kindex G j (Summary)
5036 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5037 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5038 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5043 @node Choosing Variables
5044 @subsection Choosing Variables
5046 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5049 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5050 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5051 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5052 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5053 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5054 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5056 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5057 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5058 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5059 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5060 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5061 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5063 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5064 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5065 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5066 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5067 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5068 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5069 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5070 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5071 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5072 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5073 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5074 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5075 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5076 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5081 @node Paging the Article
5082 @section Scrolling the Article
5083 @cindex article scrolling
5088 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5089 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5090 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5091 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5092 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5094 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5095 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5096 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5097 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5098 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5099 what is considered uninteresting with
5100 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5101 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5104 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5105 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5106 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5109 @kindex RET (Summary)
5110 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5111 Scroll the current article one line forward
5112 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5115 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5116 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5117 Scroll the current article one line backward
5118 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5122 @kindex A g (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5125 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5126 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5127 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5128 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5129 the way it came from the server.
5131 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5132 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5133 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5136 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5141 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5146 @kindex A < (Summary)
5147 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5148 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5149 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5154 @kindex A > (Summary)
5155 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5156 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5160 @kindex A s (Summary)
5162 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5163 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5164 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5168 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5169 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5174 @node Reply Followup and Post
5175 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5178 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5179 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5180 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5181 * Canceling and Superseding::
5185 @node Summary Mail Commands
5186 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5188 @cindex composing mail
5190 Commands for composing a mail message:
5196 @kindex S r (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5199 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5200 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5201 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5202 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5207 @kindex S R (Summary)
5208 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5209 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5210 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5211 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5212 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5215 @kindex S w (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5217 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5218 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5219 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5220 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5223 @kindex S W (Summary)
5224 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5225 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5226 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5227 the process/prefix convention.
5230 @kindex S v (Summary)
5231 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5232 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5233 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5234 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5235 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5236 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5239 @kindex S V (Summary)
5240 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5241 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5242 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5243 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5246 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5248 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5249 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5250 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5251 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5252 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5253 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5256 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5257 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5258 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5259 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5260 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5264 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5265 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5266 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5267 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5268 Forward the current article to some other person
5269 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5270 headers of the forwarded article.
5275 @kindex S m (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5277 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5278 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5279 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5280 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5285 @kindex S i (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5287 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5288 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5289 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5291 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5292 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5293 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5294 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5295 for this to work though.
5298 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5300 @cindex bouncing mail
5301 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5302 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5303 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5304 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5305 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5306 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5307 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5308 very well fail, though.
5311 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5313 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5314 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5315 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5316 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5317 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5318 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5319 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5320 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5322 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5323 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5324 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5325 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5326 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5328 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5329 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5332 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5334 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5335 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5336 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5339 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5341 @cindex crossposting
5342 @cindex excessive crossposting
5343 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5344 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5346 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5347 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5348 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5349 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5350 command understands the process/prefix convention
5351 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5355 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5356 Manual}, for more information.
5359 @node Summary Post Commands
5360 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5362 @cindex composing news
5364 Commands for posting a news article:
5370 @kindex S p (Summary)
5371 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5372 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5373 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5374 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5375 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5380 @kindex S f (Summary)
5381 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5382 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5383 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5387 @kindex S F (Summary)
5389 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5390 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5391 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5392 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5393 process/prefix convention.
5396 @kindex S n (Summary)
5397 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5398 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5399 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5402 @kindex S N (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5404 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5405 message through mail and include the original message
5406 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5407 the process/prefix convention.
5410 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5411 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5412 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5413 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5414 headers of the forwarded article.
5417 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5418 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5420 @cindex making digests
5421 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5422 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5423 process/prefix convention.
5426 @kindex S u (Summary)
5427 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5428 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5429 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5430 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5433 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5434 Manual}, for more information.
5437 @node Summary Message Commands
5438 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5442 @kindex S y (Summary)
5443 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5444 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5445 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5446 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5447 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5452 @node Canceling and Superseding
5453 @subsection Canceling Articles
5454 @cindex canceling articles
5455 @cindex superseding articles
5457 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5458 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5460 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5462 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5464 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5465 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5466 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5467 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5468 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5469 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5471 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5472 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5475 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5476 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5477 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5479 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5480 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5481 your original article.
5483 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5485 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5486 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5487 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5490 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5491 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5492 have posted almost the same article twice.
5494 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5495 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5496 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5497 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5498 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5499 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5500 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5501 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5502 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5503 canceled/superseded.
5505 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5507 @node Delayed Articles
5508 @section Delayed Articles
5509 @cindex delayed sending
5510 @cindex send delayed
5512 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5513 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5514 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5515 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5518 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5521 @findex gnus-delay-article
5522 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5523 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5524 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5525 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5529 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5530 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5531 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5532 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5535 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5536 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5537 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5540 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5541 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5542 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5543 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5544 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5545 that means a time tomorrow.
5548 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5549 couple of variables:
5552 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5553 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5554 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5555 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5557 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5558 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5559 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5560 formats described above.
5562 @item gnus-delay-group
5563 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5564 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5565 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5566 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5568 @item gnus-delay-header
5569 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5570 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5571 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5572 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5575 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5576 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5577 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5578 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5579 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5581 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5582 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5583 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5584 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5585 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5586 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5587 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5590 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5591 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5593 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5594 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5595 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5596 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5597 argument is ignored.
5599 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5600 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5601 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5605 @node Marking Articles
5606 @section Marking Articles
5607 @cindex article marking
5608 @cindex article ticking
5611 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5613 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5614 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5615 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5617 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5620 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5621 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5622 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5626 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5630 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5631 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5632 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5636 @node Unread Articles
5637 @subsection Unread Articles
5639 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5644 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5645 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5647 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5648 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5649 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5650 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5651 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5652 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5653 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5656 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5657 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5659 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5660 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5661 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5662 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5666 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5667 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5669 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5674 @subsection Read Articles
5675 @cindex expirable mark
5677 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5682 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5683 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5684 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5687 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5688 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5691 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5692 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5693 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5696 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5697 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5700 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5701 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5704 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5705 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5708 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5709 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5712 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5713 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5716 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5717 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5720 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5721 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5725 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5726 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5727 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5731 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5732 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5734 One more special mark, though:
5738 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5739 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5741 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5742 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5743 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5744 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5750 @subsection Other Marks
5751 @cindex process mark
5754 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5760 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5761 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5762 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5763 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5764 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5767 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5768 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5769 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5770 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5773 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5774 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5775 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5778 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5779 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5780 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5783 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5784 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5785 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5786 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5789 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5790 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5791 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5792 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5793 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5794 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5797 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5798 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5799 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5800 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5803 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5804 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5805 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5806 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5807 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5811 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5812 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5813 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5814 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5815 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5816 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5819 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5820 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5821 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5822 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5823 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5824 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5828 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5829 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5830 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5831 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5832 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5835 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5836 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5837 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5838 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5839 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5840 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5844 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5845 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5846 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5848 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5849 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5850 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5854 @subsection Setting Marks
5855 @cindex setting marks
5857 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5862 @kindex M c (Summary)
5863 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5864 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5865 @cindex mark as unread
5866 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5867 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5873 @kindex M t (Summary)
5874 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5875 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5876 @xref{Article Caching}.
5881 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5882 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5883 Mark the current article as dormant
5884 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5888 @kindex M d (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5891 Mark the current article as read
5892 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5896 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5897 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5898 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5903 @kindex M k (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5905 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5906 and then select the next unread article
5907 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5911 @kindex M K (Summary)
5912 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5913 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5914 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5915 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5918 @kindex M C (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5920 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5921 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5924 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5926 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5927 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5930 @kindex M H (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5932 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5933 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5936 @kindex M h (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5938 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5939 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5942 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5944 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5945 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5948 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5950 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5951 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5955 @kindex M e (Summary)
5957 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5958 Mark the current article as expirable
5959 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5962 @kindex M b (Summary)
5963 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5964 Set a bookmark in the current article
5965 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5968 @kindex M B (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5970 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5971 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5974 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5976 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5977 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5980 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5982 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5983 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5986 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5988 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5989 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5990 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5993 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5994 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5995 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5996 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5997 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5998 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5999 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6000 The default is @code{t}.
6003 @node Generic Marking Commands
6004 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6006 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6007 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6008 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6009 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6010 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6013 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6014 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6017 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6018 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6019 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6020 to list in this manual.
6022 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6023 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6024 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6025 article, you could say something like:
6028 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6029 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6030 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6036 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6037 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6041 @node Setting Process Marks
6042 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6043 @cindex setting process marks
6045 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6046 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6047 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6048 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6049 commands into the cache. For more information,
6050 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6057 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6058 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6059 Mark the current article with the process mark
6060 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6061 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6065 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6066 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6067 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6068 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6071 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6073 Remove the process mark from all articles
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6077 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6078 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6079 Invert the list of process marked articles
6080 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6083 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6085 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6086 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6089 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6091 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6092 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6095 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6097 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6101 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6102 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6105 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6107 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6108 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6111 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6112 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6113 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6114 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6117 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6118 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6119 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6120 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6123 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6124 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6125 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6128 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6129 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6130 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6131 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6134 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6135 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6136 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6139 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6140 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6141 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6142 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6145 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6147 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6148 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6151 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6153 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6154 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6157 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6159 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6160 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6164 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6165 set process marks based on article body contents.
6172 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6173 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6174 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6177 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6178 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6179 additional articles.
6185 @kindex / / (Summary)
6186 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6187 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6188 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6192 @kindex / a (Summary)
6193 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6194 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6195 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6199 @kindex / x (Summary)
6200 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6201 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6202 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6203 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6208 @kindex / u (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6211 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6212 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6213 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6214 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6217 @kindex / m (Summary)
6218 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6219 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6220 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6223 @kindex / t (Summary)
6224 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6225 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6226 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6227 articles younger than that number of days.
6230 @kindex / n (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6232 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6233 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6234 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6237 @kindex / w (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6239 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6240 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6244 @kindex / . (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6246 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6250 @kindex / v (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6252 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6253 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6256 @kindex / p (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6258 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6259 group parameter predicate
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6261 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6265 @kindex M S (Summary)
6266 @kindex / E (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6268 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6269 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6272 @kindex / D (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6274 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6275 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6278 @kindex / * (Summary)
6279 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6280 Include all cached articles in the limit
6281 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6284 @kindex / d (Summary)
6285 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6286 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6287 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6290 @kindex / M (Summary)
6291 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6292 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6295 @kindex / T (Summary)
6296 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6297 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6300 @kindex / c (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6302 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6303 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6306 @kindex / C (Summary)
6307 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6308 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6309 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6310 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6313 @kindex / N (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6315 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6316 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6319 @kindex / o (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6321 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6322 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6330 @cindex article threading
6332 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6333 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6334 hierarchical fashion.
6336 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6337 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6338 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6339 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6340 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6341 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6342 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6344 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6348 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6351 A tree-like article structure.
6354 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6357 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6358 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6359 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6360 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6361 called loose threads.
6363 @item thread gathering
6364 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6366 @item sparse threads
6367 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6368 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6374 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6375 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6379 @node Customizing Threading
6380 @subsection Customizing Threading
6381 @cindex customizing threading
6384 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6385 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6386 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6387 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6392 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6395 @cindex loose threads
6398 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6399 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6400 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6401 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6402 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6403 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6405 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6406 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6407 There are four possible values:
6411 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6412 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6413 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6414 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6415 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6420 @cindex adopting articles
6425 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6426 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6427 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6428 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6431 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6432 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6433 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6434 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6435 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6436 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6437 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6438 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6439 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6440 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6443 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6444 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6445 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6449 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6450 display them after one another.
6453 Don't gather loose threads.
6456 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6457 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6458 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6459 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6460 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6461 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6462 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6463 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6464 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6465 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6466 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6468 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6469 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6470 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6473 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6474 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6475 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6476 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6477 simplification is used.
6479 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6480 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6481 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6482 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6484 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6486 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6492 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6493 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6494 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6495 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6500 (mapconcat 'identity
6501 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6503 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6506 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6509 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6510 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6511 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6512 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6513 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6514 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6516 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6519 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6520 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6521 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6523 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6524 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6527 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6528 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6529 Remove excessive whitespace.
6531 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6532 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6533 Remove all whitespace.
6536 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6539 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6540 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6541 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6542 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6543 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6544 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6545 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6546 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6548 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6549 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6550 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6551 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6552 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6553 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6554 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6555 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6556 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6560 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6561 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6562 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6563 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6565 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6566 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6567 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6570 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6574 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6575 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6581 @node Filling In Threads
6582 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6585 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6586 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6587 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6588 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6589 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6590 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6591 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6592 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6593 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6594 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6595 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6596 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6599 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6600 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6601 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6603 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6604 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6605 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6608 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6609 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6610 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6611 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6612 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6613 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6614 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6615 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6616 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6617 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6618 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6619 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6620 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6621 @code{nil} by default.
6623 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6624 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6625 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6626 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6627 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6628 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6629 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6631 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6632 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6633 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6638 @node More Threading
6639 @subsubsection More Threading
6642 @item gnus-show-threads
6643 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6644 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6645 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6646 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6647 slower and more awkward.
6649 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6650 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6651 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6654 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6655 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6656 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6661 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6662 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6663 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6666 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6667 unread, but you get my drift.)
6670 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6671 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6672 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6673 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6674 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6675 threads are expunged.
6677 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6678 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6679 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6682 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6683 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6684 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6685 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6686 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6687 result in a new thread.
6689 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6690 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6691 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6694 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6695 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6696 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6697 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6698 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6699 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6700 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6701 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6702 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6703 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6704 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6709 @node Low-Level Threading
6710 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6714 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6715 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6716 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6717 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6718 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6719 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6721 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6722 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6723 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6724 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6725 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6726 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6727 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6728 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6729 meaningful. Here's one example:
6732 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6734 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6735 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6737 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6739 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6746 @node Thread Commands
6747 @subsection Thread Commands
6748 @cindex thread commands
6754 @kindex T k (Summary)
6755 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6756 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6757 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6758 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6759 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6764 @kindex T l (Summary)
6765 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6766 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6767 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6768 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6771 @kindex T i (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6773 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6774 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6777 @kindex T # (Summary)
6778 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6779 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6780 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6783 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6784 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6785 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6786 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6789 @kindex T T (Summary)
6790 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6791 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6794 @kindex T s (Summary)
6795 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6796 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6797 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6800 @kindex T h (Summary)
6801 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6802 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6805 @kindex T S (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6807 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6810 @kindex T H (Summary)
6811 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6812 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6815 @kindex T t (Summary)
6816 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6817 Re-thread the current article's thread
6818 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6819 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6822 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6823 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6824 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6825 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6829 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6830 understand the numeric prefix.
6835 @kindex T n (Summary)
6837 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6839 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6840 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6841 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6844 @kindex T p (Summary)
6846 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6848 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6849 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6850 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6853 @kindex T d (Summary)
6854 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6855 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6858 @kindex T u (Summary)
6859 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6860 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6863 @kindex T o (Summary)
6864 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6865 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6868 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6869 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6870 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6871 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6872 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6873 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6874 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6875 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6876 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6877 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6878 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6879 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6883 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6884 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6886 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6887 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6888 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6889 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6890 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6891 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6892 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6893 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6894 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6895 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6896 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6897 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6898 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6900 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6901 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6902 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6903 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6904 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6905 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6906 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6907 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6909 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6910 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6911 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6913 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6914 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6915 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6916 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6917 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6918 ascending article order.
6920 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6921 by number, you could do something like:
6924 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6925 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6926 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6927 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6930 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6931 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6932 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6933 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6934 which the articles arrived.
6936 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6940 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6942 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6943 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6946 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6947 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6948 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6949 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6952 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6953 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6954 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6955 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6956 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6957 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6958 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6959 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6960 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6961 variable. It is very similar to the
6962 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6963 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6964 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6965 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6966 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6967 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6968 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6970 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6974 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6975 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6976 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6981 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6982 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6983 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6984 @cindex article pre-fetch
6987 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
6988 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6989 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6990 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6991 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6993 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6994 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6996 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6997 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6998 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6999 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7000 connection is blocked.
7002 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7003 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7004 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7005 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
7007 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7008 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7009 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7010 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7013 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7016 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7017 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7018 happen automatically.
7020 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7021 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7022 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7023 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7024 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7025 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7026 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7028 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7029 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7030 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7031 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7032 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7033 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7034 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7035 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7036 article data structure as the only parameter.
7038 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7039 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7042 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7043 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7044 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7045 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7048 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7051 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7052 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7053 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7055 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7056 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7057 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7058 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7062 Remove articles when they are read.
7065 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7068 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7070 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7071 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7072 @c from the next group.
7075 @node Article Caching
7076 @section Article Caching
7077 @cindex article caching
7080 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7081 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7082 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7083 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7084 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7086 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7088 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7089 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7090 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7091 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7092 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7093 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7094 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7095 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7097 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7098 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7099 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7100 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7101 as dormant, and don't worry.
7103 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7105 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7106 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7107 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7108 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7109 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7110 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7111 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7112 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7113 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7114 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7116 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7117 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7118 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7119 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7120 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7121 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7122 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7123 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7124 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7125 not then be downloaded by this command.
7127 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7128 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7129 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7130 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7131 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7132 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7134 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7135 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7136 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7137 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7138 variables, the group is not cached.
7140 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7141 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7142 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7143 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7144 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7145 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7146 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7147 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7148 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7151 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7152 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7153 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7154 where, isn't that cool?
7156 @node Persistent Articles
7157 @section Persistent Articles
7158 @cindex persistent articles
7160 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7161 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7162 useful in my opinion.
7164 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7165 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7166 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7167 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7168 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7169 the expiry going on at the news server.
7171 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7172 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7173 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7179 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7180 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7183 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7184 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7185 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7186 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7190 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7192 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7193 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7194 interested in persistent articles:
7197 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7201 @node Article Backlog
7202 @section Article Backlog
7204 @cindex article backlog
7206 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7207 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7208 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7209 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7210 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7211 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7212 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7213 increase memory usage some.
7215 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7216 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7217 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7218 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7219 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7220 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7221 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7223 The default value is 20.
7226 @node Saving Articles
7227 @section Saving Articles
7228 @cindex saving articles
7230 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7231 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7232 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7233 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7234 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7236 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7237 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7238 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7240 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7241 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7242 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7244 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7245 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7246 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7247 deleted before saving.
7253 @kindex O o (Summary)
7255 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7256 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7257 Save the current article using the default article saver
7258 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7261 @kindex O m (Summary)
7262 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7263 Save the current article in mail format
7264 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7267 @kindex O r (Summary)
7268 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7269 Save the current article in Rmail format
7270 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7273 @kindex O f (Summary)
7274 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7275 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7276 Save the current article in plain file format
7277 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7280 @kindex O F (Summary)
7281 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7282 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7283 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7286 @kindex O b (Summary)
7287 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7288 Save the current article body in plain file format
7289 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7292 @kindex O h (Summary)
7293 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7294 Save the current article in mh folder format
7295 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7298 @kindex O v (Summary)
7299 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7300 Save the current article in a VM folder
7301 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7305 @kindex O p (Summary)
7307 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7308 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7309 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7310 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7311 complete headers in the piped output.
7314 @kindex O P (Summary)
7315 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7316 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7317 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7318 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7319 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7320 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7321 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7325 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7326 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7327 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7328 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7329 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7330 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7331 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7332 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7333 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7334 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7335 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7336 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7340 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7341 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7342 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7343 functions below, or you can create your own.
7347 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7348 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7349 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7350 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7351 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7352 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7353 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7355 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7356 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7357 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7358 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7359 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7360 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7362 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7363 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7364 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7365 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7366 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7367 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7368 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7370 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7371 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7372 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7373 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7374 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7375 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7377 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7378 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7379 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7380 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7381 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7383 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7384 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7385 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7386 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7387 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7390 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7391 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7392 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7393 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7394 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7396 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7397 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7398 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7399 reader to use this setting.
7402 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7403 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7404 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7405 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7408 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7409 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7410 available functions that generate names:
7414 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7415 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7416 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7418 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7419 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7420 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7422 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7423 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7424 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7426 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7427 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7428 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7430 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7431 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7432 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7435 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7436 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7437 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7438 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7439 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7443 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7444 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7445 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7446 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7449 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7450 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7451 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7452 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7453 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7454 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7455 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7456 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7457 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7459 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7460 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7461 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7462 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7464 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7465 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7466 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7469 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7470 lots of mail groups called things like
7471 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7472 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7473 following will do just that:
7476 (defun my-save-name (group)
7477 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7478 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7480 (setq gnus-split-methods
7481 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7486 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7487 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7488 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7489 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7490 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7491 all the files in the top level directory
7492 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7493 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7494 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7495 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7497 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7498 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7499 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7500 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7501 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7504 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7508 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7509 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7510 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7513 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7514 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7515 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7516 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7519 @node Decoding Articles
7520 @section Decoding Articles
7521 @cindex decoding articles
7523 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7524 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7527 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7528 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7529 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7530 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7531 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7532 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7536 @cindex article series
7537 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7538 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7539 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7540 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7541 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7543 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7544 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7545 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7547 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7548 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7549 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7551 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7552 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7553 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7556 @node Uuencoded Articles
7557 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7559 @cindex uuencoded articles
7564 @kindex X u (Summary)
7565 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7566 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7567 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7570 @kindex X U (Summary)
7571 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7572 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7573 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7576 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7577 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7578 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7581 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7582 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7583 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7584 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7588 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7589 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7590 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7591 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7592 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7594 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7595 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7596 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7597 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7600 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7601 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7602 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7603 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7604 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7605 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7609 @node Shell Archives
7610 @subsection Shell Archives
7612 @cindex shell archives
7613 @cindex shared articles
7615 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7616 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7617 some commands to deal with these:
7622 @kindex X s (Summary)
7623 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7624 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7627 @kindex X S (Summary)
7628 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7629 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7632 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7633 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7634 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7637 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7638 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7639 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7640 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7644 @node PostScript Files
7645 @subsection PostScript Files
7651 @kindex X p (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7653 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7656 @kindex X P (Summary)
7657 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7658 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7659 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7662 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7663 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7664 View the current PostScript series
7665 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7668 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7669 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7670 View and save the current PostScript series
7671 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7676 @subsection Other Files
7680 @kindex X o (Summary)
7681 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7682 Save the current series
7683 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7686 @kindex X b (Summary)
7687 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7688 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7689 doesn't really work yet.
7693 @node Decoding Variables
7694 @subsection Decoding Variables
7696 Adjective, not verb.
7699 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7700 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7701 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7705 @node Rule Variables
7706 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7707 @cindex rule variables
7709 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7710 variables are of the form
7713 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7720 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7721 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7723 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7724 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7727 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7728 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7731 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7732 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7733 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7734 user and default view rules.
7736 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7737 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7738 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7743 @node Other Decode Variables
7744 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7747 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7749 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7750 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7751 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7752 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7753 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7757 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7758 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7761 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7762 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7763 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7766 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7767 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7768 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7769 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7770 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7773 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7774 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7775 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7777 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7778 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7779 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7780 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7781 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7784 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7785 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7786 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7788 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7789 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7790 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7791 looking for files to display.
7793 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7794 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7795 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7798 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7799 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7800 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7803 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7804 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7805 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7808 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7809 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7810 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7813 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7814 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7815 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7816 decoded articles as unread.
7818 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7819 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7820 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7821 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7823 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7824 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7825 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7827 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7828 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7830 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7831 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7832 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7833 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7835 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7836 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7837 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7838 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7839 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7840 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7841 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7842 simply dropped them.
7847 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7848 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7852 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7853 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7854 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7855 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7856 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7857 for you when you post the article.
7859 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7860 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7861 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7862 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7864 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7865 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7866 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7867 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7868 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7869 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7870 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7872 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7873 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7874 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7875 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7876 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7877 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7878 Default is @code{t}.
7884 @subsection Viewing Files
7885 @cindex viewing files
7886 @cindex pseudo-articles
7888 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7889 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7890 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7891 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7892 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7893 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7894 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7896 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7897 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7898 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7899 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7901 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7902 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7903 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7905 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7906 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7907 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7908 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7909 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7911 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7912 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7913 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7914 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7915 a list of parameters to that command.
7917 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7918 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7919 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7921 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7922 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7923 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7926 @node Article Treatment
7927 @section Article Treatment
7929 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7930 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7931 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7932 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7933 these articles easier.
7936 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7937 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7938 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7939 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7940 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7941 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7942 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
7943 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7944 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7945 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7946 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7950 @node Article Highlighting
7951 @subsection Article Highlighting
7952 @cindex highlighting
7954 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7955 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7960 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7961 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7962 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7963 Do much highlighting of the current article
7964 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7965 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7968 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7970 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7971 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7972 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7973 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7974 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7975 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7976 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7977 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7978 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7979 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7982 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7983 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7984 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7986 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7989 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7991 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7992 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7993 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7995 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7996 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7997 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7999 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8000 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8001 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8002 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8003 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8004 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8006 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8007 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8008 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8010 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8011 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8012 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8014 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8015 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8016 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8017 that it's a citation.
8019 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8020 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8021 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8023 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8024 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8025 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8027 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8028 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8029 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8030 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8036 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8037 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8038 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8039 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8040 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8041 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8042 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8043 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8048 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8051 @node Article Fontisizing
8052 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8054 @cindex article emphasis
8056 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8057 @kindex W e (Summary)
8058 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8059 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8060 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8061 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8063 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8064 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8065 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8066 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8067 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8068 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8069 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8070 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8074 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8075 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8076 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8085 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8086 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8087 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8088 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8089 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8090 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8091 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8092 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8093 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8094 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8095 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8096 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8097 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8099 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8100 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8101 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8105 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8108 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8110 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8111 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8112 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8113 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8115 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8118 @node Article Hiding
8119 @subsection Article Hiding
8120 @cindex article hiding
8122 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8123 too much cruft in most articles.
8128 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8129 @findex gnus-article-hide
8130 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8131 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8132 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8135 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8136 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8137 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8141 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8142 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8143 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8144 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8147 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8148 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8149 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8153 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8154 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8155 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8156 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8157 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8158 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8159 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8160 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8164 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8165 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8166 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8167 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8172 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8173 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8174 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8175 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8178 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8179 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8180 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8181 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8184 @cindex stripping advertisements
8185 @cindex advertisements
8186 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8187 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8188 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8189 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8190 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8191 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8192 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8193 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8194 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8195 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8198 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8199 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8200 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8204 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8205 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8206 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8207 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8208 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8209 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8210 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8211 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8212 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8213 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8214 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8217 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8223 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8224 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8225 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8226 customizing the hiding:
8230 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8231 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8232 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8233 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8234 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8235 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8236 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8241 Starting point of the hidden text.
8243 Ending point of the hidden text.
8245 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8247 Number of lines of hidden text.
8250 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8251 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8252 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8253 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8254 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8259 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8260 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8262 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8263 following two variables:
8266 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8267 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8268 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8269 50), hide the cited text.
8271 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8272 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8273 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8278 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8279 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8280 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8281 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8282 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8283 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8287 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8288 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8289 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8291 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8292 citation customization.
8294 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8298 @node Article Washing
8299 @subsection Article Washing
8301 @cindex article washing
8303 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8304 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8306 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8307 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8310 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8311 articles by default.
8316 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8317 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8321 Force redisplaying of the current article
8322 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8323 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8324 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8325 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8328 @kindex W l (Summary)
8329 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8330 Remove page breaks from the current article
8331 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8335 @kindex W r (Summary)
8336 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8338 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8339 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8340 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8341 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8343 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8344 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8345 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8346 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8349 @kindex W m (Summary)
8350 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8351 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8355 @kindex W t (Summary)
8357 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8358 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8359 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8362 @kindex W v (Summary)
8363 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8364 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8365 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8368 @kindex W m (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8370 Toggle whether to run the article through @acronym{MIME} before
8371 displaying (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8374 @kindex W o (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8376 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8379 @kindex W d (Summary)
8380 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8381 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8383 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8385 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8386 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8387 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8388 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8391 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8392 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8393 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8394 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8397 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8398 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8399 @cindex Outlook Express
8400 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8401 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8402 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8405 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8406 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8407 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8408 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8409 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8410 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8411 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8412 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8413 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8414 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8417 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8418 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8419 Repair a broken attribution line.
8420 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8423 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8425 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8426 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8429 @kindex W w (Summary)
8430 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8431 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8433 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8437 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8438 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8439 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8442 @kindex W C (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8444 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8445 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8448 @kindex W c (Summary)
8449 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8450 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8451 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8452 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8453 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8455 @kindex W q (Summary)
8456 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8457 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8458 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8459 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8460 makes strings like @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which
8461 doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually done
8462 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8463 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8464 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8467 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8468 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8469 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8470 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8471 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8472 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8473 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8474 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8477 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8478 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8479 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8480 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8481 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8484 @kindex W u (Summary)
8485 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8486 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8487 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8488 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8489 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8492 @kindex W h (Summary)
8493 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8494 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8495 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8496 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8498 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8500 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8501 The default is to use the function specified by
8502 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8503 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8504 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8505 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8513 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8516 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8519 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8522 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8527 @kindex W b (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8529 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8530 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8533 @kindex W B (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8535 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8536 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8539 @kindex W p (Summary)
8540 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8541 Verify a signed control message
8542 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8543 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8544 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8545 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8546 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8547 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8550 @kindex W s (Summary)
8551 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8552 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8553 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8554 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8557 @kindex W a (Summary)
8558 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8559 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8560 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8563 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8564 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8565 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8566 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8569 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8570 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8571 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8572 lines with a single empty line.
8573 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8576 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8578 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8579 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8582 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8583 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8584 Do all the three commands above
8585 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8588 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8589 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8590 Remove all blank lines
8591 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8594 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8595 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8596 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8597 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8600 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8601 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8602 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8603 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8607 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8610 @node Article Header
8611 @subsection Article Header
8613 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8618 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8619 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8620 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8623 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8624 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8625 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8626 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8629 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8630 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8631 Fold all the message headers
8632 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8636 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8637 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8638 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8643 @node Article Buttons
8644 @subsection Article Buttons
8647 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8648 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8649 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8650 button on these references.
8652 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8653 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8654 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8655 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8656 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8660 @item gnus-button-alist
8661 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8662 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8665 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8671 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8672 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8673 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8674 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8675 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8678 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8679 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8680 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8683 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8684 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8685 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8686 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8687 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8689 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8692 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8695 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8696 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8700 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8703 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8706 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8707 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8708 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8709 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8710 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8713 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{nutton-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8716 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8718 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8720 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8721 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8723 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8725 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8726 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8727 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8728 default values of the variables above.
8730 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8732 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8733 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8734 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8735 argument with a string naming the man page.
8737 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8739 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8740 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8741 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8743 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8744 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8745 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8746 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8747 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8748 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8749 a mail address, respectivly. If this variable is set to the symbol
8750 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8751 function will be called with the string as it's only argument. The
8752 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8753 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8754 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8756 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8757 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8758 Function that guesses whether it's argument is a message ID or a mail
8759 address. Returns @code{mid} it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if it's a
8760 mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the string is
8763 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8764 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8765 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8766 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8768 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8770 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8771 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8772 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8773 argument, the string naming the URL.
8776 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8777 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8778 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8782 @item gnus-article-button-face
8783 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8784 Face used on buttons.
8786 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8787 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8788 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8792 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8795 @node Article Button Levels
8796 @subsection Article button levels
8797 @cindex button levels
8798 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8799 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8800 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8801 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8802 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8803 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8804 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8805 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8808 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8809 (setq gnus-parameters
8810 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8811 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8812 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8817 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8818 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8819 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8820 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8821 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8822 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8824 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8825 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8826 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8827 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8828 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8829 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8830 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8831 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8832 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8833 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8834 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8835 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8836 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8838 @item gnus-button-man-level
8839 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8840 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8841 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8843 @item gnus-button-message-level
8844 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8845 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8846 Related variables and functions include
8847 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8848 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8849 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8850 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8852 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8853 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8854 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8855 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8856 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8857 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8858 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8864 @subsection Article Date
8866 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8867 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8868 when the article was sent.
8873 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8874 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8875 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8876 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8879 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8880 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8882 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8883 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8886 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8887 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8888 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8891 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8892 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8893 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8894 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8897 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8898 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8899 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8900 @findex format-time-string
8901 Display the date using a user-defined format
8902 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8903 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8904 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8905 for a list of possible format specs.
8908 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8909 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8910 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8911 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8912 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8913 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8916 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8919 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8920 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8921 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8924 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8925 into wonderful absurdities.
8927 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8930 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8933 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8934 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8938 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8939 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8940 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8941 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8942 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8943 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8944 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8948 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8949 preferred format automatically.
8952 @node Article Display
8953 @subsection Article Display
8958 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8959 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8961 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8962 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8964 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8965 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8967 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8968 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8970 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
8975 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8976 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8977 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8978 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8981 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8982 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8983 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8984 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8987 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8988 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8989 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8992 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8993 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8994 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8997 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8998 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8999 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9000 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9003 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9004 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9005 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9006 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9009 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9010 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9011 Remove all images from the article buffer
9012 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9018 @node Article Signature
9019 @subsection Article Signature
9021 @cindex article signature
9023 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9024 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9025 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9026 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9027 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9028 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9029 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9030 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9031 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9034 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9035 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9036 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9037 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9038 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9039 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9040 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9041 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9044 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9047 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9048 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9049 signature when displaying articles.
9053 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9056 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9059 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9060 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9062 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9063 in question is not a signature.
9066 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9067 listed above. Here's an example:
9070 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9071 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9074 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9075 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9076 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9077 signature after all.
9080 @node Article Miscellania
9081 @subsection Article Miscellania
9085 @kindex A t (Summary)
9086 @findex gnus-article-babel
9087 Translate the article from one language to another
9088 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9094 @section MIME Commands
9095 @cindex MIME decoding
9097 @cindex viewing attachments
9099 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9100 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9106 @kindex K v (Summary)
9107 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9110 @kindex K o (Summary)
9111 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9114 @kindex K c (Summary)
9115 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9118 @kindex K e (Summary)
9119 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9122 @kindex K i (Summary)
9123 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9126 @kindex K | (Summary)
9127 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9130 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9135 @kindex K b (Summary)
9136 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9137 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9141 @kindex K m (Summary)
9142 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9143 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9144 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9145 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9146 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9149 @kindex X m (Summary)
9150 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9151 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9152 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9153 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9156 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9157 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9158 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9159 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9162 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9163 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9164 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9165 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9168 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9169 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9170 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9171 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9173 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9174 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9175 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9176 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9177 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9178 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9181 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9182 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9183 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9184 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9191 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9192 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9193 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9194 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9197 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9200 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9204 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9205 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9206 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9207 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9208 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9209 default is @code{nil}.
9211 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9212 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9213 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9214 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9215 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9216 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9217 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9219 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9220 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9221 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9222 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9223 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9224 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9225 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9226 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9228 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9229 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9230 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9231 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9232 displayed. This variable overrides
9233 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9234 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9237 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9238 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9239 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9241 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9242 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9243 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9244 default value is @code{nil}.
9246 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9247 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9248 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9249 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9250 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9251 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9252 save all jpegs into some directory).
9254 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9257 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9258 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9260 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9261 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9262 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9263 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9264 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9267 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9268 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9269 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9271 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9272 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9273 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9274 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9276 Ready-made functions include@*
9277 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9278 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9279 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9280 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9281 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9282 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9283 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9284 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9285 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9286 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9287 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9288 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9290 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9291 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9293 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9294 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9295 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9298 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9299 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9300 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9301 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9305 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9314 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9315 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9316 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9317 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9318 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9319 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9320 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9322 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9323 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9324 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9325 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9327 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9328 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9329 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9330 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9331 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9332 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9333 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9334 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9335 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9337 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9338 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9339 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9340 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9341 quoted-printable header encoding.
9343 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9344 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9345 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9349 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9352 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9353 means encode all charsets),
9355 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9356 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9357 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9364 @cindex coding system aliases
9365 @cindex preferred charset
9367 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9369 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9370 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9373 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9374 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9377 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9378 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9380 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9383 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9386 This will almost do the right thing.
9388 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9392 (codepage-setup 1251)
9393 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9397 @node Article Commands
9398 @section Article Commands
9405 @kindex A P (Summary)
9406 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9407 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9408 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9409 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9410 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9411 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9416 @node Summary Sorting
9417 @section Summary Sorting
9418 @cindex summary sorting
9420 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9421 can't really see why you'd want that.
9426 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9427 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9428 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9431 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9432 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9433 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9436 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9437 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9438 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9441 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9442 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9443 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9446 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9447 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9448 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9451 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9452 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9453 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9456 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9457 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9458 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9461 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9462 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9463 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9466 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9467 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9468 Sort using the default sorting method
9469 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9472 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9473 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9474 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9475 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9476 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9480 @node Finding the Parent
9481 @section Finding the Parent
9482 @cindex parent articles
9483 @cindex referring articles
9488 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9489 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9490 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9491 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9492 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9493 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9494 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9495 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9496 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9498 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9499 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9500 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9501 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9502 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9506 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9507 @kindex A R (Summary)
9508 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9509 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9512 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9513 @kindex A T (Summary)
9514 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9515 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9516 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9517 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9518 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9519 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9520 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9522 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9523 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9524 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9525 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9526 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9527 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9530 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9531 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9533 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9534 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9535 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9536 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9537 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9538 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9539 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9542 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9543 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9544 by giving this command a prefix.
9546 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9547 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9548 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9549 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9550 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9551 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9554 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9555 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9556 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9559 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9560 then ask Google if that fails:
9563 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9565 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9568 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9569 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9570 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9571 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9572 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9573 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9574 support this at all.
9577 @node Alternative Approaches
9578 @section Alternative Approaches
9580 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9581 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9584 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9585 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9590 @subsection Pick and Read
9591 @cindex pick and read
9593 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9594 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9595 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9596 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9598 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9599 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9600 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9601 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9602 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9603 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9605 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9610 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9611 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9612 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9613 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9614 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9615 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9616 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9617 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9620 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9621 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9622 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9623 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9627 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9628 Unpick the thread or article
9629 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9630 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9631 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9632 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9633 the thread or article at that line.
9637 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9638 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9639 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9640 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9641 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9642 will still be visible when you are reading.
9646 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9647 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9648 which is mapped to the same function
9649 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9651 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9654 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9657 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9658 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9660 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9661 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9662 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9664 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9665 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9666 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9667 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9668 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9669 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9670 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9674 @subsection Binary Groups
9675 @cindex binary groups
9677 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9678 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9679 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9680 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9681 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9682 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9683 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9686 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9687 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9688 command, when you have turned on this mode
9689 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9691 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9692 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9696 @section Tree Display
9699 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9700 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9701 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9702 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9705 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9708 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9709 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9710 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9712 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9713 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9714 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9715 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9716 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9718 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9719 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9720 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9721 default is @code{modeline}.
9723 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9724 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9725 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9726 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9727 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9728 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9729 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9735 The name of the poster.
9737 The @code{From} header.
9739 The number of the article.
9741 The opening bracket.
9743 The closing bracket.
9748 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9750 Variables related to the display are:
9753 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9754 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9755 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9756 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9757 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9758 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9760 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9761 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9762 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9763 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9767 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9768 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9769 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9770 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9771 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9772 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9773 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9774 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9775 other windows displayed next to it.
9777 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9781 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9782 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9785 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9786 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9787 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9788 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9789 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9790 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9791 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9795 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9798 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9808 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9812 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9813 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9815 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9817 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9822 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9823 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9824 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9827 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9828 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9829 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9830 (gnus-add-configuration
9834 (summary 0.75 point)
9839 @xref{Window Layout}.
9842 @node Mail Group Commands
9843 @section Mail Group Commands
9844 @cindex mail group commands
9846 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9847 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9849 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9850 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9855 @kindex B e (Summary)
9856 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9857 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9858 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9859 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9860 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9863 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9864 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9865 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9866 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9867 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9868 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9871 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9872 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9873 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9874 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9875 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9876 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9879 @kindex B m (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9882 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9883 Move the article from one mail group to another
9884 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9885 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9888 @kindex B c (Summary)
9890 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9891 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9892 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9893 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9894 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9897 @kindex B B (Summary)
9898 @cindex crosspost mail
9899 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9900 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9901 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9902 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9903 be properly updated.
9906 @kindex B i (Summary)
9907 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9908 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9909 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9910 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9913 @kindex B I (Summary)
9914 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9915 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9916 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9917 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9920 @kindex B r (Summary)
9921 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9922 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9923 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9924 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9925 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9926 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9927 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9928 (which is the default).
9932 @kindex B w (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9935 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9936 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9937 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9938 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9939 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9940 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9943 @kindex B q (Summary)
9944 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9945 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9946 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9947 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9950 @kindex B t (Summary)
9951 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9952 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9953 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9956 @kindex B p (Summary)
9957 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9958 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9959 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9960 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9961 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9962 article from your news server (or rather, from
9963 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9964 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9965 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9966 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9967 just not have arrived yet.
9970 @kindex K E (Summary)
9971 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9972 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9973 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9974 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9975 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9979 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9980 @cindex moving articles
9981 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9982 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9983 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9984 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9985 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9986 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9987 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9990 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9991 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9992 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9993 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9997 @node Various Summary Stuff
9998 @section Various Summary Stuff
10001 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10002 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10003 * Summary Generation Commands::
10004 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10008 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10009 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10010 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10011 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10012 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10013 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10015 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10016 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10017 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10019 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10020 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10021 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10022 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10023 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10024 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10027 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10028 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10029 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10030 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10031 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10033 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10034 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10035 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10038 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10039 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10040 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10041 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10042 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10043 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10044 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10045 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10046 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10047 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10049 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10050 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10051 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10052 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10053 list of articles to be selected.
10055 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10056 the list in one particular group:
10059 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10060 (if (string= group "some.group")
10061 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10065 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10066 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10067 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10068 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10069 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10070 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10071 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10072 other buffers. For example:
10075 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10076 '(message-use-followup-to
10077 (gnus-visible-headers .
10078 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10084 @node Summary Group Information
10085 @subsection Summary Group Information
10090 @kindex H f (Summary)
10091 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10092 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10093 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10094 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10095 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10096 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10097 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10098 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10099 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10102 @kindex H d (Summary)
10103 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10104 Give a brief description of the current group
10105 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10106 rereading the description from the server.
10109 @kindex H h (Summary)
10110 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10111 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10112 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10115 @kindex H i (Summary)
10116 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10117 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10121 @node Searching for Articles
10122 @subsection Searching for Articles
10127 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10128 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10129 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10130 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10133 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10134 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10135 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10136 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10139 @kindex & (Summary)
10140 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10141 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10142 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10143 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10144 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10145 search backward instead.
10147 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
10148 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10151 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10152 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10153 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10154 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10157 @node Summary Generation Commands
10158 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10163 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10164 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10165 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10168 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10169 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10170 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10171 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10174 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10175 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10176 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10177 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10182 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10183 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10189 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10190 @kindex A D (Summary)
10191 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10192 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10193 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10194 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10195 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10196 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10197 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10198 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10202 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10203 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10204 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10205 several documents into one biiig group
10206 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10207 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10208 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10209 command understands the process/prefix convention
10210 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10213 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10214 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10215 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10216 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10217 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10218 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10221 @kindex = (Summary)
10222 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10223 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10224 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10227 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10228 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10229 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10230 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10233 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10234 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10235 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10236 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10241 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10242 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10243 @cindex summary exit
10244 @cindex exiting groups
10246 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10247 group and return you to the group buffer.
10253 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10254 @kindex q (Summary)
10255 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10256 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10257 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10258 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10259 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10260 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10261 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10262 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10263 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10264 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10265 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10266 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10270 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10271 @kindex Q (Summary)
10272 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10273 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10274 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10278 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10279 @kindex c (Summary)
10280 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10281 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10282 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10283 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10286 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10287 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10288 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10289 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10292 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10293 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10294 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10295 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10298 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10299 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10300 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10301 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10302 all articles, both read and unread.
10306 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10307 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10308 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10309 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10310 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10311 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10312 articles, both read and unread.
10315 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10316 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10317 Exit the group and go to the next group
10318 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10321 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10322 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10323 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10324 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10327 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10328 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10329 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10330 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10331 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10332 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10335 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10336 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10337 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10338 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10340 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10341 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10342 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10343 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10344 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10345 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10346 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10347 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10348 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10349 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10350 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10351 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10353 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10355 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10356 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10357 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10358 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10359 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10360 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10361 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10362 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10363 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10366 @node Crosspost Handling
10367 @section Crosspost Handling
10371 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10372 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10373 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10374 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10375 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10376 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10379 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10380 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10381 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10382 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10383 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10385 @cindex cross-posting
10387 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10388 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10389 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10390 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10391 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10392 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10393 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10394 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10395 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10396 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10397 the cross reference mechanism.
10399 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10400 @cindex overview.fmt
10401 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10402 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10403 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10404 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10405 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10406 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10409 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10410 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10411 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10416 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10419 @node Duplicate Suppression
10420 @section Duplicate Suppression
10422 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10423 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10424 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10425 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10430 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10431 is evil and not very common.
10434 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10435 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10438 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10439 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10442 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10445 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10446 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10448 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10449 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10450 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10451 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10452 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10453 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10454 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10457 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10458 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10459 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10460 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10461 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10462 saw the article in.
10465 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10466 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10467 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10469 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10470 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10471 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10472 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10473 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10474 session are suppressed.
10476 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10477 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10478 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10479 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10481 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10482 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10483 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10484 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10487 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10488 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10489 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10490 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10491 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10492 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10493 to you to figure out, I think.
10498 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10499 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10500 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10505 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10506 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface
10507 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10508 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10511 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10512 or newer is recommended.
10516 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10517 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10520 @item mm-verify-option
10521 @vindex mm-verify-option
10522 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10523 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10524 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10526 @item mm-decrypt-option
10527 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10528 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10529 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10530 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10533 @vindex mml1991-use
10534 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10535 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10536 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10540 @vindex mml2015-use
10541 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10542 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10543 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10548 @cindex snarfing keys
10549 @cindex importing PGP keys
10550 @cindex PGP key ring import
10551 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10552 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10553 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10554 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10555 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10556 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10557 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10558 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10559 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10562 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10565 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10566 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10569 @section Mailing List
10571 @kindex A M (summary)
10572 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10573 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10574 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10575 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10578 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10583 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10584 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10585 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10588 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10589 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10590 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10593 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10594 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10595 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10599 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10600 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10601 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10604 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10605 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10606 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10609 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10610 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10611 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10616 @node Article Buffer
10617 @chapter Article Buffer
10618 @cindex article buffer
10620 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10621 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10622 tell gnus otherwise.
10625 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10626 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10627 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10628 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10629 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10633 @node Hiding Headers
10634 @section Hiding Headers
10635 @cindex hiding headers
10636 @cindex deleting headers
10638 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10639 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10641 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10642 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10643 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10644 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10645 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10646 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10647 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10648 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10649 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10651 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10655 @item gnus-visible-headers
10656 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10657 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10658 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10659 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10661 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10662 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10665 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10668 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10671 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10672 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10673 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10674 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10675 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10676 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10678 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10679 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10682 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10685 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10688 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10689 variable will have no effect.
10693 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10694 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10695 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10696 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10697 the headers are to be displayed.
10699 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10700 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10703 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10706 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10707 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10709 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10710 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10711 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10712 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10713 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10714 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10715 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10718 These conditions are:
10721 Remove all empty headers.
10723 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10724 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10726 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10727 @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter is
10730 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10733 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10734 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10736 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10737 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10739 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10740 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10742 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10745 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10747 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10750 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10753 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10754 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10757 This is also the default value for this variable.
10761 @section Using MIME
10762 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10764 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10765 while people stand around yawning.
10767 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10768 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10770 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10771 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10772 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10774 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10775 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10776 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10777 gnus handles @acronym{MIME} by pushing the articles through
10778 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10779 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10780 calls the @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For
10781 more information on @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View, see its manual page
10782 (however it is not existed yet, sorry).
10784 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10785 @acronym{MIME} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set,
10786 then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10787 These can't be avoided.
10789 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10790 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10791 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10792 @acronym{MIME} has decoded the sound file in the article and some
10793 horrible sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you
10794 can't find the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are
10795 starting to look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't,
10796 and you can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else
10797 in the room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll
10798 feel rather stupid.)
10800 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10802 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10803 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10804 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10805 buffer when there are nobody else.
10807 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10810 @node Customizing Articles
10811 @section Customizing Articles
10812 @cindex article customization
10814 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10815 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10816 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10817 called automatically when you select the articles.
10819 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10820 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10821 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10822 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10824 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10825 for sensible values.
10829 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10832 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10835 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10838 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10841 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10845 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10846 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10847 regexps in the list.
10850 A list where the first element is not a string:
10852 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10853 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10854 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10858 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10862 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10867 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10868 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
10869 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10870 considered to contain just a single part.
10872 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10873 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10874 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10875 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10876 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10877 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10878 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10880 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10881 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10882 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10883 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10886 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10887 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10889 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10891 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10892 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10893 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10894 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10895 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10896 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10897 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10898 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10899 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10900 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10901 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10903 @xref{Article Washing}.
10905 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10906 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10907 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10908 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10909 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10910 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10911 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10913 @xref{Article Date}.
10915 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10916 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10917 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10921 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10923 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10925 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10926 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10927 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10931 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10935 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10936 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10937 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10938 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10939 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10940 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10941 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10942 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10943 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
10944 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
10946 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10948 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10949 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10950 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10952 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10954 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10955 @item gnus-treat-translate
10956 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10958 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10959 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10960 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10961 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10963 @xref{Article Header}.
10968 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10969 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10970 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10971 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10972 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10976 @node Article Keymap
10977 @section Article Keymap
10979 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10980 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10981 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10982 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10985 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10990 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10991 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10992 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10993 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
10996 @kindex DEL (Article)
10997 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10998 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10999 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11002 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11003 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11004 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11005 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11006 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11009 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11010 @findex gnus-article-mail
11011 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11012 given a prefix, include the mail.
11015 @kindex s (Article)
11016 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11017 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11018 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11021 @kindex ? (Article)
11022 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11023 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11024 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11027 @kindex TAB (Article)
11028 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11029 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11030 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11033 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11034 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11035 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11038 @kindex R (Article)
11039 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11040 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11041 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11042 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11046 @kindex F (Article)
11047 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11048 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11049 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11050 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11058 @section Misc Article
11062 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11063 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11064 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11065 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11068 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11069 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11071 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11072 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11074 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11075 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11076 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11077 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11078 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11079 the contents of the article buffer.
11081 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11082 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11083 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11085 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11086 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11087 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11088 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11090 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11091 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11092 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11093 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11095 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11096 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11097 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11098 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11099 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11105 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11106 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11107 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11112 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11115 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11118 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11119 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11120 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11123 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11126 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11129 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11134 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11138 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11140 @item gnus-break-pages
11141 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11142 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11143 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11144 paging will not be done.
11146 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11147 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11148 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11152 @cindex internationalized domain names
11153 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11154 @item gnus-use-idna
11155 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11156 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11157 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11158 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11159 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11164 @node Composing Messages
11165 @chapter Composing Messages
11166 @cindex composing messages
11169 @cindex sending mail
11174 @cindex using s/mime
11175 @cindex using smime
11177 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11178 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11179 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11180 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11181 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11182 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11185 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11186 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11187 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11188 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11189 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11190 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11191 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11192 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11195 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11196 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11202 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11205 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11206 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11207 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11208 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11209 @code{nil} include all headers.
11211 @item gnus-add-to-list
11212 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11213 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11214 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11216 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11217 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11218 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11219 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11220 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11221 confirmation is should be asked for.
11223 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11224 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11226 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11227 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11228 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11229 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11230 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11235 @node Posting Server
11236 @section Posting Server
11238 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11239 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11241 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11243 It can be quite complicated.
11245 @vindex gnus-post-method
11246 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11247 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11248 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11249 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11250 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11251 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11252 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11253 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11254 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11257 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11260 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11261 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11262 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11263 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11265 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11266 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11268 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11269 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11272 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11273 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11275 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11276 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11277 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11278 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11279 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11280 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11281 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11282 package correctly. An example:
11285 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11286 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11287 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11288 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11289 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11292 To the thing similar to this, there is
11293 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11294 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11295 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11297 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11298 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11299 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11301 @node Mail and Post
11302 @section Mail and Post
11304 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11308 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11309 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11310 @cindex mailing lists
11312 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11313 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11314 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11315 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11316 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11317 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11318 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11319 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11320 still a pain, though.
11322 @item gnus-user-agent
11323 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11326 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11327 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11328 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11329 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11330 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11331 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11332 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11336 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11337 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11338 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11341 @findex ispell-message
11343 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11346 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11347 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11350 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11354 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11355 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11357 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11360 Modify to suit your needs.
11363 @node Archived Messages
11364 @section Archived Messages
11365 @cindex archived messages
11366 @cindex sent messages
11368 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11369 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11370 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11371 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11374 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11375 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11378 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11379 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11380 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11383 (nnfolder "archive"
11384 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11385 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11386 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11387 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11390 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11391 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11392 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11393 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11396 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11397 '(nnfolder "archive"
11398 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11399 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11400 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11403 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11405 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11406 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11407 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11409 This variable can be used to do the following:
11414 Messages will be saved in that group.
11416 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11417 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11418 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11419 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11420 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11421 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11422 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11423 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11427 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11429 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11430 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11433 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11438 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11440 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11443 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11445 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11448 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11450 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11451 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11452 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11453 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11456 More complex stuff:
11458 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11459 '((if (message-news-p)
11464 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11465 messages in one file per month:
11468 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11469 '((if (message-news-p)
11471 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11474 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11475 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11477 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11478 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11479 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11480 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11481 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11482 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11483 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11484 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11485 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11486 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11488 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11489 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11490 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11491 this will disable archiving.
11494 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11495 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11496 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11497 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11498 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11501 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11502 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11503 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11506 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11507 but the latter is the preferred method.
11509 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11510 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11511 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11513 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11514 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11515 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11516 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11517 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11518 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11519 changed in the future.
11524 @node Posting Styles
11525 @section Posting Styles
11526 @cindex posting styles
11529 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11531 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11532 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11533 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11536 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11537 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11538 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11539 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11540 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11545 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11546 (organization "What me?"))
11548 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11549 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11550 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11553 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11554 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11555 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11556 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11557 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11558 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11559 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11560 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11562 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11563 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11564 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11565 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11566 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11567 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11568 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11569 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11570 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11571 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11572 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11573 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11574 said to @dfn{match}.
11576 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11577 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11578 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11579 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11580 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11581 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11582 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11583 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11584 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11585 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11588 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11589 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11590 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11591 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11592 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11593 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11594 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11595 references chars lines xref extra.
11597 @vindex message-reply-headers
11599 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11600 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11601 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11603 @findex message-mail-p
11604 @findex message-news-p
11606 So here's a new example:
11609 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11611 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11613 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11614 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11616 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11617 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11618 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11619 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11620 (signature my-news-signature))
11621 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11622 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11623 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11624 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11625 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11626 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11627 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11628 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11629 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11630 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11632 (From (save-excursion
11633 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11634 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11636 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11639 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11640 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11641 if you fill many roles.
11643 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11644 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11645 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11646 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11647 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11648 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11649 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11650 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11655 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11657 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11659 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11660 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11663 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11666 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11667 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11674 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11675 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11676 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11677 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11678 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11680 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11681 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11682 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11683 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11684 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11688 @vindex nndraft-directory
11689 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11690 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11691 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11692 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11693 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11694 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11696 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11697 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11698 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11699 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11700 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11701 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11702 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11703 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11704 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11706 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11707 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11708 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11709 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11710 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11711 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11712 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11713 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11714 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11715 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11716 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11717 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11718 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11719 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11721 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11722 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11723 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11725 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11726 @kindex D e (Draft)
11727 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11728 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11729 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11731 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11734 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11735 @kindex D s (Draft)
11736 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11737 @kindex D S (Draft)
11738 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11739 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11740 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11741 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11742 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11745 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11746 @kindex D t (Draft)
11747 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11748 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11749 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11752 @node Rejected Articles
11753 @section Rejected Articles
11754 @cindex rejected articles
11756 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11757 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11758 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11759 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11761 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11762 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11763 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11764 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11765 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11767 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11768 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11769 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11771 @node Signing and encrypting
11772 @section Signing and encrypting
11774 @cindex using s/mime
11775 @cindex using smime
11777 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11778 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11779 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11780 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11782 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11783 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11784 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11785 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11786 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11787 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11788 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11789 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11790 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11791 automatically encrypted messages.
11793 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
11794 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11795 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11800 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11801 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11803 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11806 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11807 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11809 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11812 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11813 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11815 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11818 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11819 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11821 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11824 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11825 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11827 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11830 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11831 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11833 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11836 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11837 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11838 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11842 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11844 @node Select Methods
11845 @chapter Select Methods
11846 @cindex foreign groups
11847 @cindex select methods
11849 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11850 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11851 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11852 personal mail group.
11854 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11855 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11856 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11857 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11858 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11859 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11861 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11862 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11864 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11867 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
11868 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11869 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11870 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11871 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11873 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11876 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11877 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11878 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11879 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11880 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
11881 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11882 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11883 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11887 @node Server Buffer
11888 @section Server Buffer
11890 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11891 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11892 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11893 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11894 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11895 back end represents a virtual server.
11897 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11898 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11899 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11900 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11902 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11903 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11904 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11905 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11906 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11907 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11908 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11910 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11911 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11914 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11915 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11916 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11917 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11918 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11919 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11920 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11923 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11924 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11927 @node Server Buffer Format
11928 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11929 @cindex server buffer format
11931 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11932 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11933 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11934 variable, with some simple extensions:
11939 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11942 The name of this server.
11945 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11948 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11951 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11952 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11953 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11954 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11964 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11967 @node Server Commands
11968 @subsection Server Commands
11969 @cindex server commands
11975 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11976 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11980 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11981 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11984 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11985 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11986 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11990 @findex gnus-server-exit
11991 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11995 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11996 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12000 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12001 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12005 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12006 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12010 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12011 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12015 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12016 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12017 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12022 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12023 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12024 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12025 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12030 @node Example Methods
12031 @subsection Example Methods
12033 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12036 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12039 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12045 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12046 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12049 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12050 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12052 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12053 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12057 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12060 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12061 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12063 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12064 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12065 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12069 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12072 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12075 Here's the method for a public spool:
12079 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12080 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12086 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12087 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12088 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12089 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12090 should probably look something like this:
12094 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12095 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12096 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12097 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12100 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12101 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12102 configuration to the example above:
12105 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12108 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12110 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12111 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12112 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12116 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12117 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12118 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12119 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12122 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12123 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12124 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12125 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12128 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12129 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12131 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12132 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12134 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12135 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
12136 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12138 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
12140 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
12141 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12142 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12143 will contain the following:
12153 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
12154 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
12155 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12158 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12159 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12160 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12163 @node Server Variables
12164 @subsection Server Variables
12165 @cindex server variables
12166 @cindex server parameters
12168 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12169 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12170 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12171 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12172 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12174 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12175 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12176 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12177 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12178 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12179 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12180 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12181 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12182 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12186 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12187 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12188 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12191 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12193 @node Servers and Methods
12194 @subsection Servers and Methods
12196 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12197 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12198 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12199 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12203 @node Unavailable Servers
12204 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12206 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12207 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12208 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12209 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12210 actually the case or not.
12212 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12213 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12214 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12215 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12216 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12217 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12218 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12219 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12221 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12222 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12224 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12225 with the following commands:
12231 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12232 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12233 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12237 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12238 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12239 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12243 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12244 Mark the current server as unreachable
12245 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12248 @kindex M-o (Server)
12249 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12250 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12251 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12254 @kindex M-c (Server)
12255 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12256 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12257 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12261 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12262 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12263 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12267 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12268 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12274 @section Getting News
12275 @cindex reading news
12276 @cindex news back ends
12278 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12279 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12280 or it can read from a local spool.
12283 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12284 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12292 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12293 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12294 server as the, uhm, address.
12296 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12297 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12298 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12299 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12301 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12302 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12303 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12305 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12310 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12311 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12312 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12314 @cindex authentification
12315 @cindex nntp authentification
12316 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12317 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12318 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12319 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12320 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12321 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12322 present in this hook.
12324 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12325 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12326 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12327 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12328 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12329 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12330 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12331 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12332 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12333 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12334 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12335 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12339 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12342 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12344 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12345 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12346 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12347 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12348 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12349 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12350 @samp{force} is explained below.
12354 Here's an example file:
12357 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12358 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12361 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12362 have to be first, for instance.
12364 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12365 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12366 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12367 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12368 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12369 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12370 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12372 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12373 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12379 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12380 previously mentioned.
12382 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12384 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12385 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12386 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12387 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12388 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12391 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12392 '(("innd" (ding))))
12395 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12397 The default value is
12400 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12401 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12402 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12405 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12406 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12408 @item nntp-maximum-request
12409 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12410 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12411 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12412 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12413 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12414 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12415 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12417 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12418 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12419 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12420 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12421 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12422 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12423 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12424 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12425 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12426 no timeouts are done.
12428 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12429 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12430 @c @cindex PPP connections
12431 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12432 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12433 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12434 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12435 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12436 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12437 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12438 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12439 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12440 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12442 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12443 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12444 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12445 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12446 @c described above.
12448 @item nntp-server-hook
12449 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12450 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12453 @item nntp-buggy-select
12454 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12455 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12457 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12458 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12459 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12460 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12463 @item nntp-xover-commands
12464 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12467 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12468 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12472 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12473 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12474 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12475 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12476 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12477 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12478 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12479 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12480 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12481 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12482 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12484 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12485 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12486 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12488 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12489 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12490 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12491 server closes connection.
12493 @item nntp-record-commands
12494 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12495 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12496 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12497 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12498 that doesn't seem to work.
12500 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12501 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12502 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12503 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12504 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12505 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12506 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12507 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12509 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12510 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12511 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12512 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12513 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12514 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12515 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12518 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12521 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12522 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12524 @item nntp-read-timeout
12525 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12526 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12527 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12528 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12529 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12532 @item nntp-list-options
12533 @vindex nntp-list-options
12534 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12535 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12536 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12537 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12538 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12542 (setq gnus-select-method
12543 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12544 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12547 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12548 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12549 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12550 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12551 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12552 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12553 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12556 (setq gnus-select-method
12557 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12558 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12561 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12562 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12563 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12564 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12565 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12566 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12567 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12570 (setq gnus-select-method
12571 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12572 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12577 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12578 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12579 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12583 @node Direct Functions
12584 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12585 @cindex direct connection functions
12587 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12588 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12589 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12590 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12593 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12594 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12595 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12598 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12599 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12600 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12601 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12602 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12605 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12606 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12608 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12609 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12610 (nntp-port-number )
12611 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12614 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12615 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12616 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12617 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12618 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12619 then define a server as follows:
12622 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12623 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12625 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12626 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12627 (nntp-port-number 563)
12628 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12631 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12632 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12633 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12634 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12635 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12636 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12637 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12638 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12642 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12643 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12644 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12647 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12648 session, which is not a good idea.
12652 @node Indirect Functions
12653 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12654 @cindex indirect connection functions
12656 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12657 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12658 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12659 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12660 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12661 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12664 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12665 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12666 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12667 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12668 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12670 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12673 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12674 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12675 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12676 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12678 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12679 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12680 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12681 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12682 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12683 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12684 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12685 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12689 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12690 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12691 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12692 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12694 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12697 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12698 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12699 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12702 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12703 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12704 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12705 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12707 @item nntp-via-user-password
12708 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12709 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12711 @item nntp-via-envuser
12712 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12713 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12714 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12715 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12717 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12718 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12719 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12720 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12727 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12732 @item nntp-via-user-name
12733 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12734 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12736 @item nntp-via-address
12737 @vindex nntp-via-address
12738 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12743 @node Common Variables
12744 @subsubsection Common Variables
12746 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12747 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12752 @item nntp-pre-command
12753 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12754 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12755 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12756 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12757 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12760 @vindex nntp-address
12761 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12763 @item nntp-port-number
12764 @vindex nntp-port-number
12765 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12766 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12767 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12768 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12769 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12770 not work with named ports.
12772 @item nntp-end-of-line
12773 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12774 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12775 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12776 using a non native connection function.
12778 @item nntp-telnet-command
12779 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12780 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12781 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12782 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12785 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12786 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12787 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12794 @subsection News Spool
12798 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12799 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12800 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12803 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12804 anything else) as the address.
12806 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12807 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12808 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12809 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12813 @item nnspool-inews-program
12814 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12815 Program used to post an article.
12817 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12818 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12819 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12821 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12822 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12823 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12824 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12826 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12827 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12828 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally
12829 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12831 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12832 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12833 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12835 @item nnspool-active-file
12836 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12837 The name of the active file.
12839 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12840 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12841 The name of the group descriptions file.
12843 @item nnspool-history-file
12844 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12845 The name of the news history file.
12847 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12848 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12849 The name of the active date file.
12851 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12852 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12853 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12856 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12857 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12859 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12860 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12861 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
12868 @section Getting Mail
12869 @cindex reading mail
12872 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12876 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12877 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12878 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12879 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12880 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12881 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12882 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12883 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12884 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12885 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12886 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12887 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12888 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12892 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12893 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12895 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12896 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12897 of a culture shock.
12899 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12900 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12902 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12903 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12904 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12905 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12907 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12909 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12910 deleted? How awful!
12912 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12913 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12914 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12915 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12918 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12919 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12920 they want to treat a message.
12922 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12923 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12924 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12925 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12926 archived somewhere else.
12928 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12929 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12930 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12931 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12932 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12934 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12935 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12936 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12938 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12939 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12942 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12943 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12944 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12945 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12946 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12948 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12949 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12950 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12951 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12952 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12953 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12957 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12958 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12960 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12961 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12962 and things will happen automatically.
12964 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
12965 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12968 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12971 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12972 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12973 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12974 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12975 like any other group.
12977 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12980 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12981 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12982 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12986 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12987 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12988 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12991 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12992 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12993 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12996 @node Splitting Mail
12997 @subsection Splitting Mail
12998 @cindex splitting mail
12999 @cindex mail splitting
13001 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13002 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13003 to be split into groups.
13006 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13007 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13008 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13009 ("mail.other" "")))
13012 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13013 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13014 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13015 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13016 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13017 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13018 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13021 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13024 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13025 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13026 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13027 mail belongs in that group.
13029 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13030 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13031 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13032 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13033 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13034 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13036 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13037 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13038 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13039 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13040 thinks should carry this mail message.
13042 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13043 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13044 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13045 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13047 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13048 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13049 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13050 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13051 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13053 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13056 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13057 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13058 links. If that's the case for you, set
13059 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13060 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13062 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13063 @kindex nnmail-split-history
13064 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13065 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13066 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13067 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13070 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13071 Header lines longer than the value of
13072 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13075 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13076 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13077 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13078 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13079 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13080 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13081 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13082 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13084 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13085 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13086 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13087 @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then splitting does
13088 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13089 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13090 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13091 other kinds of entries.)
13093 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13094 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13095 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13096 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13097 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13098 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13099 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13100 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13101 month's rent money.
13105 @subsection Mail Sources
13107 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13108 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13109 maildir, for instance.
13112 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13113 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13114 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13118 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13119 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13121 @cindex mail server
13124 @cindex mail source
13126 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13127 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13132 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13135 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13136 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13137 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13140 The following mail source types are available:
13144 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13150 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13151 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13152 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13156 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13159 An example file mail source:
13162 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13165 Or using the default file name:
13171 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13172 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13173 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13174 mail spool while moving the mail.
13176 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13180 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13183 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13187 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13190 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13192 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13195 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13199 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13200 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13201 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13202 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13203 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13204 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13205 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13206 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13207 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13208 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13210 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13211 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13212 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13213 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13219 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13223 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13227 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13228 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13229 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13230 predicate are considered.
13234 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13238 An example directory mail source:
13241 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13246 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13252 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13253 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13256 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13257 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13258 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13259 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13260 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13263 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13267 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13268 the user is prompted.
13271 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13272 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13275 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13278 The valid format specifier characters are:
13282 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13283 included in this string.
13286 The name of the server.
13289 The port number of the server.
13292 The user name to use.
13295 The password to use.
13298 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13299 corresponding keywords.
13302 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13303 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13306 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13307 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13310 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13311 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13312 mail should be moved to.
13314 @item :authentication
13315 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13316 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13320 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13321 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13322 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13323 programs and libraries:
13327 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13328 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13329 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13331 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13332 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13337 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13338 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13342 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13343 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13345 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13346 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13352 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13355 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13356 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13359 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13362 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13366 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13367 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13368 contains exactly one mail.
13374 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13375 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13378 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13379 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13381 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13382 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13383 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13386 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13387 from locking problems).
13391 Two example maildir mail sources:
13394 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13395 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13399 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13404 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13405 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13406 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13407 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13408 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13410 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13411 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13417 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13418 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13421 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13422 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13425 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13429 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13433 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13434 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13435 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13436 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13438 @item :authentication
13439 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13440 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13441 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13442 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13445 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13446 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13447 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13453 The valid format specifier characters are:
13457 The name of the server.
13460 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13463 The port number of the server.
13466 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13467 corresponding keywords.
13470 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13471 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13474 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13475 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13476 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13477 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13478 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13479 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13482 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13483 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13484 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13485 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13488 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13489 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13493 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13496 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13498 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13502 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13503 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13504 @uref{mail.yahoo.com}.
13506 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13507 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13509 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13515 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13516 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13519 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13523 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13527 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13528 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13532 An example webmail source:
13535 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13537 :password "secret")
13542 @item Common Keywords
13543 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13549 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13550 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13555 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13560 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13561 useful when you use local mail and news.
13566 @subsubsection Function Interface
13568 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13569 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13570 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13571 consider the following mail-source setting:
13574 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13575 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13578 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13579 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13580 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13581 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13582 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13584 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13587 @node Mail Source Customization
13588 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13590 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13591 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13595 @item mail-source-crash-box
13596 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13597 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13598 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13600 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13601 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13602 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13603 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13604 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13605 (This will only happen, when reveiving new mail). You may also set
13606 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13607 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13609 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13610 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13611 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13612 files. This variable only applies when
13613 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13615 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13616 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13617 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13619 @item mail-source-directory
13620 @vindex mail-source-directory
13621 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13622 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13623 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13626 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13627 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13628 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13629 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13630 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13631 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13633 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13634 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13635 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13637 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13638 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13639 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13640 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13645 @node Fetching Mail
13646 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13648 @vindex mail-sources
13649 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13650 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13651 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13652 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13654 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13655 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13658 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13659 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13664 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13665 :password "secret")))
13668 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13672 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13673 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13676 :password "secret")))
13680 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13681 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13682 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13683 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13684 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13685 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13689 @node Mail Back End Variables
13690 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13692 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13696 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13697 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13698 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13699 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13701 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13702 @item nnmail-split-hook
13703 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13704 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13705 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13706 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13707 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13708 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13709 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13710 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13711 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13714 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13715 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13716 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13717 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13718 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13719 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13720 starting to handle the new mail) and
13721 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13722 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13723 default file modes the new mail files get:
13726 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13727 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13729 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13730 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13733 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13734 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13735 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13736 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13737 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13738 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13739 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13741 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13742 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13743 @findex delete-file
13744 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13746 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13747 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13748 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13749 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13750 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13752 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13753 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13754 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13755 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13756 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13758 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13759 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13760 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13765 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13766 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13767 @cindex mail splitting
13768 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13770 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13771 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13772 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13773 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13774 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13775 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13777 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13780 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13781 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13782 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13783 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13785 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13786 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13787 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13788 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13789 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13790 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13791 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13792 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13793 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13794 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13795 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13796 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13797 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13798 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13799 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13800 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13801 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13805 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13806 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13807 the five possible split syntaxes:
13812 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13813 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13817 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13818 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13819 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13820 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13821 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13822 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13823 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13824 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13827 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13828 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13829 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13830 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13833 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13834 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13837 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13838 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13841 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13842 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13843 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13844 function should return a @var{split}.
13847 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13848 body of the messages:
13851 (defun split-on-body ()
13853 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13854 (goto-char (point-min))
13855 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13859 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13860 when the @code{:} function is run.
13863 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the
13864 first element is @code{!}, then @var{split} will be processed, and
13865 @var{func} will be called as a function with the result of @var{split}
13866 as argument. @var{func} should return a split.
13869 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13873 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13874 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13875 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13876 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13877 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13879 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13880 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13881 are expanded as specified by the variable
13882 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13883 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13886 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13887 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13888 when all this splitting is performed.
13890 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13891 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13892 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13895 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13898 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13899 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13901 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13902 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13903 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13904 groupings 1 through 9.
13906 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13907 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13908 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13909 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13910 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13911 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13912 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13913 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13914 it once per thread.
13916 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
13917 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
13918 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
13919 using the colon feature, like so:
13921 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
13922 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13924 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13925 ;; @r{other splits go here}
13929 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13930 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
13931 in the file specified by the variable
13932 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
13933 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
13934 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
13935 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
13936 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
13937 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
13938 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
13939 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
13940 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
13941 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
13942 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
13943 300 kBytes in size.)
13944 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13945 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13946 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13947 messages goes into the new group.
13949 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13950 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13951 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13952 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13953 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13957 @node Group Mail Splitting
13958 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13959 @cindex mail splitting
13960 @cindex group mail splitting
13962 @findex gnus-group-split
13963 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13964 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13965 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13966 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13967 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13968 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13969 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13970 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13972 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13973 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13974 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13975 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13977 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13978 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13979 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13980 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13981 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13982 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13983 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13985 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13986 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13987 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13988 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13989 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13990 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13991 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13993 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13994 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13995 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13996 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13997 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13998 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13999 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14000 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14001 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14002 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14003 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14004 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14005 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14007 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14012 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14013 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14015 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14016 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14017 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14018 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14020 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14023 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14024 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14025 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14028 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14029 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14030 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14034 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14035 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14036 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14040 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14043 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14044 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14045 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14046 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
14047 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14048 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
14049 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14050 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14051 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14053 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14054 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14055 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14056 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14057 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14058 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14059 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14060 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14061 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14063 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14064 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14065 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14066 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14067 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14068 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14071 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14074 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14075 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14076 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14077 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14078 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14081 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14082 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14083 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14084 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14086 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14087 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14088 @cindex incorporating old mail
14089 @cindex import old mail
14091 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14092 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14093 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14096 Doing so can be quite easy.
14098 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14099 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14100 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14101 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14102 your @code{nnml} groups.
14108 Go to the group buffer.
14111 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14112 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14115 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14118 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14119 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14122 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14123 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14126 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14127 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14128 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14129 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14130 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14132 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14133 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14134 using the new mail back end.
14137 @node Expiring Mail
14138 @subsection Expiring Mail
14139 @cindex article expiry
14141 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14142 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14143 different approach to mail reading.
14145 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14146 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14147 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14148 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14149 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14150 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14153 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14154 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
14155 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14156 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14157 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14158 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14159 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14160 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14161 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14163 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14164 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
14165 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14166 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
14167 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14168 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14169 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14172 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14173 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14174 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14175 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14176 into its own group.)
14178 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14179 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14180 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14181 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14182 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14183 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14184 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
14185 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14188 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14189 Groups that match the regular expression
14190 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14191 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14192 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14194 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14195 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14196 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14197 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14198 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14200 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14202 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14203 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14204 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14207 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14208 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14209 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14210 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14211 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14213 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14214 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14217 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14218 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14221 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14222 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14224 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14225 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14226 don't really mix very well.
14228 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14229 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14230 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14231 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14234 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14235 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14236 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14237 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14240 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14242 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14244 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14246 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14248 ((string= group "important")
14254 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14255 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14257 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14258 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14259 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14262 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14263 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14265 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14266 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14267 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14268 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14269 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14270 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14271 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14272 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14273 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14274 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14275 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14276 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14277 name or @code{delete}.
14279 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14281 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14284 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14285 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14286 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14287 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14288 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14291 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14292 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14293 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14294 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14295 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14298 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14299 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14300 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14301 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14302 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14303 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14305 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14306 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14307 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14308 easier for procmail users.
14310 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14311 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14312 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14313 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14314 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14315 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14316 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14317 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14318 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14319 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14320 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14321 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14322 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14325 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14327 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14328 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14329 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14330 auto-expire turned on.
14334 @subsection Washing Mail
14335 @cindex mail washing
14336 @cindex list server brain damage
14337 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14339 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14340 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14341 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14342 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14343 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14344 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14346 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14347 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14348 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14351 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14352 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14353 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14354 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14357 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14358 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14359 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14360 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14361 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14364 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14365 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14366 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14367 Emacs running on MS machines.
14371 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14372 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14373 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14374 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14377 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14378 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14379 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14380 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14382 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14383 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14384 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14385 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14386 into a feature by documenting it.)
14388 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14389 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14390 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14391 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14392 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14393 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14394 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14397 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14398 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14401 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14402 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14405 This can also be done non-destructively with
14406 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14408 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14409 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14410 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14412 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14413 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14415 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14416 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14417 @code{References} headers.
14421 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14422 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14423 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14427 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14428 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14429 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14436 @subsection Duplicates
14438 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14439 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14440 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14441 @cindex duplicate mails
14442 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14443 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14444 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14445 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14446 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14447 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14448 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14449 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14450 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14451 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14452 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14453 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14454 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14456 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14457 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14458 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14459 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14461 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14464 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14465 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14469 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14470 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14471 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14472 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14473 (any mail "mail.misc")
14474 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14480 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14481 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14482 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14486 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14487 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14488 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14489 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14490 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14493 @node Not Reading Mail
14494 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14496 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14497 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14498 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14500 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14501 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14502 mail, which should help.
14504 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14505 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14506 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14507 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14508 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14509 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14510 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14511 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14512 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14513 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14514 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14516 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14517 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14521 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14522 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14524 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14525 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14526 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14528 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14529 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14530 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14534 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14535 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14536 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14537 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14538 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14539 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14540 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14544 @node Unix Mail Box
14545 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14547 @cindex unix mail box
14549 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14550 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14551 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14552 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14553 which group it belongs in.
14555 Virtual server settings:
14558 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14559 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14560 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14563 @item nnmbox-active-file
14564 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14565 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14566 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14568 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14569 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14570 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14571 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14576 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14580 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14581 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14582 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14583 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14584 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14586 Virtual server settings:
14589 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14590 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14591 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14593 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14594 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14595 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14596 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14598 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14599 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14600 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14606 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14608 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14610 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14611 format. It should be used with some caution.
14613 @vindex nnml-directory
14614 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14615 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14616 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14617 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14619 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14622 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14623 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14624 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14625 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14626 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14627 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14628 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14629 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14631 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14632 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14633 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14634 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14636 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14638 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14639 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14640 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14641 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14642 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14643 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14644 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14645 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14648 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14649 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14650 them next time it starts.
14652 Virtual server settings:
14655 @item nnml-directory
14656 @vindex nnml-directory
14657 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14658 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14661 @item nnml-active-file
14662 @vindex nnml-active-file
14663 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14664 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14666 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14667 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14668 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14669 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14671 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14672 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14673 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14676 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14677 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14678 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14679 default is @code{nil}.
14681 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14682 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14683 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14685 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14686 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14687 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14689 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14690 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14691 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14692 default is @code{nil}.
14694 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14695 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14696 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14698 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14699 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14700 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14705 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14706 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of whack,
14707 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14708 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14709 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14710 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14711 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14716 @subsubsection MH Spool
14718 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14720 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14721 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14722 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14723 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14725 Virtual server settings:
14728 @item nnmh-directory
14729 @vindex nnmh-directory
14730 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14731 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14734 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14735 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14736 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14740 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14741 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14742 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14743 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14744 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14745 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14746 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14751 @subsubsection Maildir
14755 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14756 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14757 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14758 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14759 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14762 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14763 reading, without needing locks. With other backends, you would have
14764 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14765 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14766 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14767 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14770 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14771 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14772 data in the filesystem.
14774 nnmaildir stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each maildir. So you
14775 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14778 Virtual server settings:
14782 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14783 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14784 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14785 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14786 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14787 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14788 starting with `.' are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14789 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14790 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14793 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14794 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14795 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14796 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14797 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14798 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14799 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14800 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14801 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14802 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14804 @item target-prefix
14805 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14806 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14807 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14810 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14811 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14812 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14813 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14814 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14815 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14816 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14817 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14818 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14820 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14821 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14822 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14823 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14824 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14826 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14827 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14828 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14829 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14830 @code{force} argument.
14832 @item directory-files
14833 This should be a function with the same interface as
14834 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14835 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14836 parameter is optional; the default is
14837 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14838 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14839 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14840 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14841 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14842 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14845 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14846 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14847 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14848 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14849 value is @code{nil}.
14851 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14852 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14853 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14854 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14855 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14858 @subsubsection Group parameters
14860 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14861 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14862 behavior for other mail backends: articles are deleted after one week,
14863 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14864 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14865 duplicate the behavior you already have with another backend.
14867 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14868 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14869 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14870 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14871 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14872 backends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14873 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14874 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14875 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14879 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
14880 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
14881 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
14882 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
14883 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overridable by
14884 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
14885 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
14886 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
14887 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
14888 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
14889 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
14890 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
14893 If this is set to a string (a full Gnus group name, like
14894 @code{"backend+server.address.string:group.name"}), and if it is not
14895 the name of the same group that the parameter belongs to, then
14896 articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry before
14897 being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
14898 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
14899 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
14900 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
14901 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
14902 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
14903 article. So that form can refer to
14904 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
14905 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, nnmaildir does not fall
14906 back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
14907 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
14910 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
14911 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
14912 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
14913 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
14914 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
14915 directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
14916 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
14917 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
14918 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
14919 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
14920 extra copies of the articles.
14922 @item directory-files
14923 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
14924 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
14925 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
14926 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
14928 @item distrust-Lines:
14929 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
14930 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
14931 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
14934 A list of mark symbols, such as
14935 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
14936 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
14937 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
14938 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
14939 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14940 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14943 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
14944 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
14945 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
14946 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
14947 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
14948 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14949 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14951 @item nov-cache-size
14952 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To speed
14953 things up, nnmaildir keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory for a limited number of
14954 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
14955 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
14956 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened---i.e.,
14957 when you first start Gnus, typically. The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized
14958 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
14959 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
14960 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
14961 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
14964 @subsubsection Article identification
14965 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
14966 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
14967 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
14968 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
14969 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
14970 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
14971 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
14972 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
14973 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
14974 request the article in the summary buffer.
14976 @subsubsection NOV data
14977 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used to
14978 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
14979 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
14980 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
14981 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically when the
14982 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
14983 nnmaildir to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a single article simply by
14984 deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV} file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
14985 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
14986 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
14988 @subsubsection Article marks
14989 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
14990 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
14991 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
14992 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
14993 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
14994 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
14995 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
14996 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
14998 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
14999 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15000 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15001 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15002 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
15003 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
15004 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
15005 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
15006 changes, and might undo them.
15010 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15012 @cindex mbox folders
15013 @cindex mail folders
15015 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
15016 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
15017 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
15020 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15022 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15023 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15024 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15025 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15026 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15027 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15028 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
15029 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
15030 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
15031 @code{nnfolder} directory).
15033 Virtual server settings:
15036 @item nnfolder-directory
15037 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15038 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
15039 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15042 @item nnfolder-active-file
15043 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15044 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15046 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15047 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15048 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15049 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15051 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15052 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15053 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
15056 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15057 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15058 @cindex backup files
15059 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15060 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
15061 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
15062 your @file{.emacs} file:
15065 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15066 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15068 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15071 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15072 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15073 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15074 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15075 extract some information from it before removing it.
15077 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15078 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15079 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15080 default is @code{nil}.
15082 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15083 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15084 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15086 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15087 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15088 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15089 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15091 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15092 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15093 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15094 default is @code{nil}.
15096 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15097 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15098 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15100 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15101 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15102 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15103 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15108 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15109 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15110 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15111 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15112 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15113 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15116 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15117 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15119 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15120 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15121 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15122 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15123 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15125 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15126 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15127 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15128 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15129 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15130 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15131 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15132 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15135 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15136 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15137 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15138 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15143 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15144 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15145 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15146 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15147 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15148 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15149 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15150 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15151 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15152 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15153 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15154 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15155 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15160 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15161 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15162 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15163 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15164 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15165 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15166 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15167 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15168 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15169 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15170 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15171 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15172 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15173 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15175 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15176 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15181 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15182 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15183 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15184 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15185 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15186 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15187 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15188 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15189 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15190 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15191 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15192 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15193 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15194 provided by the active file and overviews.
15196 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15197 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15198 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15199 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15200 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15203 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15204 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15209 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15210 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15211 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15212 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15213 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15214 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15215 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15219 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15220 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15221 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15222 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15223 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15224 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15225 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15226 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15227 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15229 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15230 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15231 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15232 friendly mail back end all over.
15236 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15237 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15240 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15241 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15242 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15243 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15244 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15245 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15246 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15247 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15250 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15251 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15252 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
15253 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15254 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15255 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15256 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15257 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15258 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15259 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15260 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15262 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15263 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15264 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15265 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15266 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15269 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15270 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15271 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15272 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15273 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15274 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15275 removed in the future.
15277 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15278 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15279 on your file system.
15281 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15282 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15287 @node Browsing the Web
15288 @section Browsing the Web
15290 @cindex browsing the web
15294 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15295 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15296 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15297 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15298 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15299 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15300 even know what a news group is.
15302 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15303 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15304 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15305 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15306 you mad in the end.
15308 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15311 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15312 interfaces to these sources.
15316 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15317 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15318 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15319 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15320 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15321 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15324 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15326 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15327 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15328 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15329 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15330 though, you should be ok.
15332 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15333 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15334 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15335 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15336 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15338 @node Archiving Mail
15339 @subsection Archiving Mail
15340 @cindex archiving mail
15341 @cindex backup of mail
15343 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15344 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15345 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15346 marks is fairly simple.
15348 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15349 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15352 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15353 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15354 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15355 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15356 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15357 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15358 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15359 before you restore the data.
15361 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15362 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15363 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15364 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15365 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15366 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15367 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15368 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15369 is unnecessary in that case.
15372 @subsection Web Searches
15377 @cindex Usenet searches
15378 @cindex searching the Usenet
15380 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15381 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15382 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15383 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15384 searches without having to use a browser.
15386 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15387 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15388 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15389 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15390 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15392 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15393 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15394 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15395 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15396 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15397 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15398 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15399 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15400 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15401 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15404 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15405 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15406 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15407 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15408 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15409 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15411 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15412 to use @code{nnweb}.
15414 Virtual server variables:
15419 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15420 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15421 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15424 @vindex nnweb-search
15425 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15427 @item nnweb-max-hits
15428 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15429 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15432 @item nnweb-type-definition
15433 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15434 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15435 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15440 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15444 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15447 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15450 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15454 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15461 @subsection Slashdot
15465 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15466 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15467 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15469 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15470 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15473 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15474 '((nnslashdot "")))
15477 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15478 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15479 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15480 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15481 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15484 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15485 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15487 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15488 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15489 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15490 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
15491 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15492 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15493 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15495 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15498 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15499 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15500 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15501 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15502 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15503 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15504 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15506 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15507 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15508 The login name to use when posting.
15510 @item nnslashdot-password
15511 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15512 The password to use when posting.
15514 @item nnslashdot-directory
15515 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15516 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15517 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15519 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15520 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15521 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
15522 news articles and comments. The default is
15523 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15525 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15526 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15527 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15529 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15531 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15532 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15533 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15535 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15537 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15538 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15539 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15541 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15542 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15543 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15544 updated. The default is 0.
15551 @subsection Ultimate
15553 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15555 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15556 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15557 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15558 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15560 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15561 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15562 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15563 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15564 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15565 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15566 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15568 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15571 @item nnultimate-directory
15572 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15573 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15574 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15579 @subsection Web Archive
15581 @cindex Web Archive
15583 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15584 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15585 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15586 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15589 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15590 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15591 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15592 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15593 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address RET}}. (Substitute the
15594 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15595 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15596 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15598 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15601 @item nnwarchive-directory
15602 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15603 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15604 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15606 @item nnwarchive-login
15607 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15608 The account name on the web server.
15610 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15611 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15612 The password for your account on the web server.
15620 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15621 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15622 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15625 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15626 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15629 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15632 @item nnrss-directory
15633 @vindex nnrss-directory
15634 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15635 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15639 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15640 the summary buffer.
15643 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15644 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15646 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15648 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15649 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15652 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15655 (require 'browse-url)
15657 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15659 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15662 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15663 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15666 (browse-url (cdr url))
15667 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15668 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15670 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15671 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15672 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15673 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15676 @node Customizing w3
15677 @subsection Customizing w3
15683 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15684 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15685 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15687 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15688 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15689 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15692 (eval-after-load "w3"
15694 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15695 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15696 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15697 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15699 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15702 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15703 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15710 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15712 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15713 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15714 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15715 specify the network address of the server.
15717 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15718 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15719 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15720 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15721 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15722 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15724 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15725 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15726 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15727 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15729 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15730 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15731 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15732 usage explained in this section.
15734 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP} servers
15735 might look something like the following. (Note that for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you
15736 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15739 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15740 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15741 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15743 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15744 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15745 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15747 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15748 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15749 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15750 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15751 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15752 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15753 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15754 (nnimap-stream network))
15755 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15757 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15758 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15759 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15762 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15763 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15764 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15765 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15767 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15772 @item nnimap-address
15773 @vindex nnimap-address
15775 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15776 server name if not specified.
15778 @item nnimap-server-port
15779 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15780 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15782 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15785 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15786 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15789 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15790 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15791 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15792 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15793 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15794 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15795 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15797 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15798 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15799 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15802 Example server specification:
15805 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15806 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15807 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15810 @item nnimap-stream
15811 @vindex nnimap-stream
15812 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15813 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15814 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15815 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15817 Example server specification:
15820 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15821 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15824 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15828 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15829 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
15831 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15833 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15834 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15837 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
15838 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
15840 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15841 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15843 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
15845 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15848 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15849 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15850 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15851 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15852 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15853 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15854 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15855 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15856 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15859 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
15860 needed. It is available from
15861 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
15863 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
15864 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
15865 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
15866 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
15867 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
15868 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
15869 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
15872 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15873 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15874 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15875 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
15876 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15877 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15878 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15881 @vindex imap-shell-program
15882 @vindex imap-shell-host
15883 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15884 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15886 @item nnimap-authenticator
15887 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15889 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15890 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15892 Example server specification:
15895 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15896 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15899 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15903 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15904 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
15906 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15909 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15910 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15912 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15914 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15916 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15919 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15921 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15922 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers has decided that things that
15923 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
15924 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15925 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15926 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15929 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15930 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15931 running in circles yet?
15933 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15934 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15937 The possible options are:
15942 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15945 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15946 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
15947 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15948 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15950 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15955 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15956 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15958 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
15959 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15960 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15961 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
15962 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
15965 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15966 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15969 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15970 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15971 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15972 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15975 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15976 as ticked for other users.
15978 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15980 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15982 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
15983 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15984 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15985 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15987 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15988 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15989 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15990 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15992 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15993 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15995 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15996 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15997 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16003 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16004 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16005 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16006 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16007 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16012 @node Splitting in IMAP
16013 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16014 @cindex splitting imap mail
16016 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
16017 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16018 @acronym{IMAP} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
16019 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @acronym{IMAP}
16020 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
16024 Here are the variables of interest:
16028 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16029 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16031 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16033 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16034 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16035 found will be used.
16037 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16039 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16040 @cindex splitting, inbox
16042 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16044 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16045 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16046 splitting is disabled!
16049 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16050 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16053 No nnmail equivalent.
16055 @item nnimap-split-rule
16056 @cindex Splitting, rules
16057 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16059 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16062 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16063 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16064 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16065 Neither did I, we need examples.
16068 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16070 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16071 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16072 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16075 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16076 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16077 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16079 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
16080 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16084 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16087 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16088 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16090 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16091 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16092 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16093 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16095 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16096 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16097 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16098 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16099 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16100 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16102 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16103 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16104 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16106 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16107 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16108 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16110 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16112 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16113 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16114 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16117 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16118 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16119 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
16120 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16121 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16122 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
16125 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16126 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16127 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16128 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16129 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16130 group/function elements.
16132 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16134 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16136 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16138 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16139 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16141 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16142 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16143 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16146 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16147 @cindex splitting, fancy
16148 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16149 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16151 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16152 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16153 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16155 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16156 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16157 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16158 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16163 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16164 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16167 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16169 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16170 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16171 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16173 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16174 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16175 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16176 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16180 @node Expiring in IMAP
16181 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16182 @cindex expiring imap mail
16184 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16185 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16186 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16187 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16188 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16189 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16192 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16193 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16194 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16195 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16196 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16197 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16198 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16199 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16203 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16204 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16206 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16207 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16209 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16211 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16212 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16213 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16214 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16218 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16219 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16220 @cindex editing imap acls
16221 @cindex Access Control Lists
16222 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16224 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16226 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16227 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16228 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16231 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16232 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
16233 editing window with detailed instructions.
16235 Some possible uses:
16239 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16240 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16241 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16243 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16244 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16245 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16249 @node Expunging mailboxes
16250 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16254 @cindex Manual expunging
16256 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16258 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16259 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16260 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16262 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16265 @node A note on namespaces
16266 @subsection A note on namespaces
16267 @cindex IMAP namespace
16270 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16271 by the following text in the RFC:
16274 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16276 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16277 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16278 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16279 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16281 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16282 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16283 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16284 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16285 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16286 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16289 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16290 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16291 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16293 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16294 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16295 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16296 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16297 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16298 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16299 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16300 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16303 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16304 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16305 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16307 @node Other Sources
16308 @section Other Sources
16310 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16311 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16315 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16316 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16317 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16318 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16319 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16323 @node Directory Groups
16324 @subsection Directory Groups
16326 @cindex directory groups
16328 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16329 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16332 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16333 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16334 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16335 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16337 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16338 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16339 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16340 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16341 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16343 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16345 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16346 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16347 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16348 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16351 @node Anything Groups
16352 @subsection Anything Groups
16355 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16356 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16357 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16360 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16361 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16362 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16363 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16364 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16365 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16366 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16367 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16368 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16369 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16372 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16373 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16374 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16375 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16377 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16378 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16379 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16380 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16382 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16383 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16384 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16385 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16386 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16387 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16388 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16389 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16394 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16395 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16396 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16397 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16399 @item nneething-exclude-files
16400 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16401 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16402 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16404 @item nneething-include-files
16405 @vindex nneething-include-files
16406 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16407 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16409 @item nneething-map-file
16410 @vindex nneething-map-file
16411 Name of the map files.
16415 @node Document Groups
16416 @subsection Document Groups
16418 @cindex documentation group
16421 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16422 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16429 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16434 The standard Unix mbox file.
16436 @cindex MMDF mail box
16438 The MMDF mail box format.
16441 Several news articles appended into a file.
16444 @cindex rnews batch files
16445 The rnews batch transport format.
16446 @cindex forwarded messages
16449 Forwarded articles.
16452 Netscape mail boxes.
16455 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16457 @item standard-digest
16458 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16461 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16463 @item lanl-gov-announce
16464 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16466 @item rfc822-forward
16467 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16470 The Outlook mail box.
16473 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16476 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16479 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16482 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16488 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16491 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16497 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16498 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16499 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16502 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16503 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16504 group. And that's it.
16506 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16507 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16508 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16509 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16510 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16511 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16512 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16513 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16514 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16515 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16517 Virtual server variables:
16520 @item nndoc-article-type
16521 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16522 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16523 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16524 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16525 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16526 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16528 @item nndoc-post-type
16529 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16530 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16531 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16536 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16540 @node Document Server Internals
16541 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16543 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16544 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16545 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16546 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16548 First, here's an example document type definition:
16552 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16553 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16556 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16557 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16558 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16559 types can be defined with very few settings:
16562 @item first-article
16563 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16564 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16567 @item article-begin
16568 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16569 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16571 @item head-begin-function
16572 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16575 @item nndoc-head-begin
16576 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16579 @item nndoc-head-end
16580 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16581 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16583 @item body-begin-function
16584 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16588 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16591 @item body-end-function
16592 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16596 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16599 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16600 regexp will be totally ignored.
16604 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16605 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16606 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16607 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16608 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16611 @item prepare-body-function
16612 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16613 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16614 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16616 @item article-transform-function
16617 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16618 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16619 body of the article.
16621 @item generate-head-function
16622 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16623 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16624 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16625 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16629 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16634 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16635 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16636 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16637 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16638 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16639 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16640 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16641 (subtype digest guess))
16644 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16645 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16646 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16647 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16648 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16650 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16651 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16652 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16653 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16654 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16655 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16656 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16657 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16658 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16659 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16660 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16661 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16669 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16670 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16671 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16673 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16674 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16675 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16678 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16679 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16680 that interested in doing things properly.
16682 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16683 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16686 First some terminology:
16691 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16692 get news and/or mail from.
16695 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16696 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16699 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16703 @item message packets
16704 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16705 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16706 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16708 @item response packets
16709 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16710 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16711 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16721 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16722 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16723 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16724 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16727 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16730 You put the packet in your home directory.
16733 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16734 the native or secondary server.
16737 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16738 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16741 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16745 You transfer this packet to the server.
16748 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16751 You then repeat until you die.
16755 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16756 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16759 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16760 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16761 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16765 @node SOUP Commands
16766 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16768 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16772 @kindex G s b (Group)
16773 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16774 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16775 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16776 process/prefix convention.
16779 @kindex G s w (Group)
16780 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16781 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16784 @kindex G s s (Group)
16785 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16786 Send all replies from the replies packet
16787 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16790 @kindex G s p (Group)
16791 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16792 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16795 @kindex G s r (Group)
16796 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16797 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16800 @kindex O s (Summary)
16801 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16802 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16803 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16804 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16809 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16814 @item gnus-soup-directory
16815 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16816 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16817 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16819 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16820 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16821 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16822 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16824 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16825 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16826 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16827 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16829 @item gnus-soup-packer
16830 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16831 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16832 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16834 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16835 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16836 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16837 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16839 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16840 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16841 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16843 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16844 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16845 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16846 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16852 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16855 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16856 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16857 you can read them at leisure.
16859 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16863 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16864 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16865 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16866 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16868 @item nnsoup-directory
16869 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16870 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16871 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16873 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16874 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16875 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16876 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16878 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16879 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16880 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16881 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16882 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16884 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16885 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16886 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16887 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16889 @item nnsoup-active-file
16890 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16891 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16892 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16893 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16894 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16896 @item nnsoup-packer
16897 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16898 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16899 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16901 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16902 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16903 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16904 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16906 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16907 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16908 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16911 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16912 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16913 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16916 @item nnsoup-always-save
16917 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16918 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16924 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16926 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16927 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16928 more for that to happen.
16930 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16931 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16932 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16935 In specific, this is what it does:
16938 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16939 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16942 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16943 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16944 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16947 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16948 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16949 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16952 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16953 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16954 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16956 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16962 @item nngateway-address
16963 @vindex nngateway-address
16964 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16966 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16967 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16968 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16969 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16970 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16971 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16972 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16975 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16976 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16977 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16980 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16983 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16986 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16989 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16991 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16994 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16995 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16996 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16998 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17000 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17001 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17002 @code{nngateway-address}.
17007 (setq gnus-post-method
17009 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17010 (nngateway-header-transformation
17011 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17019 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17022 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17027 @node Combined Groups
17028 @section Combined Groups
17030 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17034 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17035 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17039 @node Virtual Groups
17040 @subsection Virtual Groups
17042 @cindex virtual groups
17043 @cindex merging groups
17045 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17048 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17049 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17050 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17052 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17053 regexp to match component groups.
17055 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17056 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17057 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17058 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17059 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17060 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17061 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17062 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17064 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17065 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17068 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17071 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17072 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17074 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17075 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17076 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17077 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17080 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17083 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17084 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17085 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17087 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17088 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17089 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17090 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17091 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17093 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17094 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17095 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17097 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17098 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17099 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17100 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17101 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17102 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17103 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17104 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17105 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17106 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17107 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17109 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17110 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17111 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17112 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17113 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17114 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17115 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17117 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17118 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17120 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17121 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17125 @node Kibozed Groups
17126 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17130 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @acronym{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
17131 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
17132 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server down to a halt
17133 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17135 @kindex G k (Group)
17136 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17139 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17140 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17141 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17142 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17144 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17145 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17146 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17148 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17149 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17150 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17151 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17152 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17153 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17154 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17155 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17157 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17158 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17159 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17160 Stranger things have happened.
17162 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17163 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17165 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17166 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17167 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
17168 contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in the group,
17169 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
17170 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
17172 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17173 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17176 @node Gnus Unplugged
17177 @section Gnus Unplugged
17182 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
17184 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17185 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17186 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17187 read news. Believe it or not.
17189 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17190 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17191 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17192 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17193 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17195 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17196 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17197 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17198 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17199 reading news on a machine.
17201 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17202 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17204 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17207 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17208 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17209 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17210 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17211 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17212 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17213 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17214 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17215 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17216 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17217 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17218 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17223 @subsection Agent Basics
17225 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17227 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17228 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17229 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17230 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17232 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17233 connected to the net continuously.
17235 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17236 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17238 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17243 @findex gnus-unplugged
17244 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17245 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17246 already fetched while in this mode.
17249 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17250 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17251 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17252 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
17253 Source Specifiers}).
17256 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
17257 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
17258 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
17259 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
17260 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
17263 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17264 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17265 then you read the news offline.
17268 And then you go to step 2.
17271 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17277 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17278 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17279 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17280 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17281 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17282 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17283 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17284 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17288 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17289 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17290 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17291 is probably best to start with a category @xref{Agent Categories}.
17293 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17294 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17295 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17296 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17297 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17298 your policy, you can use grou parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17302 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17306 @node Agent Categories
17307 @subsection Agent Categories
17309 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17310 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17311 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17312 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17313 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17314 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17315 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17317 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17318 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17319 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17320 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17321 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17323 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17324 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17325 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17326 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17327 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17330 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17331 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17332 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17333 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17334 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17335 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17339 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17340 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17341 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17345 @node Category Syntax
17346 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17348 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17349 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17350 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17354 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17355 The name of the category.
17357 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17358 The list of groups that are in this category.
17360 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17361 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17362 are eligible for downloading; and
17364 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17365 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17366 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17367 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17369 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17370 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17371 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17372 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17373 only groups that should not be expired.
17375 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17376 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17377 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17379 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17380 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17382 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17383 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17385 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17386 an integer that overrides the value of
17387 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17389 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17390 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17393 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17396 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17397 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17398 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17401 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17402 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17403 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17404 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17406 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17407 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17408 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17410 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17411 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17412 operators sprinkled in between.
17414 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17416 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17417 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17423 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17424 short (for some value of ``short'').
17426 Here's a more complex predicate:
17435 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17436 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17439 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17440 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17441 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17443 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17444 you want to do, you can write your own.
17446 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17447 bound to the value determined by calling
17448 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17449 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17450 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17451 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17452 predicate to individual groups.
17456 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17457 lines; default 100.
17460 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17461 lines; default 200.
17464 True iff the article has a download score less than
17465 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17468 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17469 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17472 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17473 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17474 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17483 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17484 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17485 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17488 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17489 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17490 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17491 something along the lines of the following:
17494 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17495 "Say whether an article is old."
17496 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17497 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17500 with the predicate then defined as:
17503 (not my-article-old-p)
17506 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17507 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17511 (require 'gnus-agent)
17512 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17513 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17514 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17517 and simply specify your predicate as:
17523 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17524 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17525 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17526 just don't give a damn.
17528 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17529 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17530 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17531 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
17532 parameters like so:
17535 (agent-predicate . short)
17538 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17539 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17540 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17542 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17545 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17548 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17549 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17550 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17553 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17554 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17555 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17556 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17557 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17558 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17560 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17561 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17562 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17563 if it's to be specific to that group.
17565 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17572 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
17573 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17579 Category specification
17583 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17589 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17592 (agent-score ("from"
17593 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17598 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17604 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17605 keywords stated above.
17611 Category specification
17614 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17620 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17624 Group Parameter specification
17627 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17630 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17635 Use @code{normal} score files
17637 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17638 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17639 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17640 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17642 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17643 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17644 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17645 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17649 Category Specification
17656 Group Parameter specification
17659 (agent-score . file)
17664 @node Category Buffer
17665 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17667 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17668 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17669 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17671 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17675 @kindex q (Category)
17676 @findex gnus-category-exit
17677 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17680 @kindex e (Category)
17681 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17682 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17683 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17686 @kindex k (Category)
17687 @findex gnus-category-kill
17688 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17691 @kindex c (Category)
17692 @findex gnus-category-copy
17693 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17696 @kindex a (Category)
17697 @findex gnus-category-add
17698 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17701 @kindex p (Category)
17702 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17703 Edit the predicate of the current category
17704 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17707 @kindex g (Category)
17708 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17709 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17710 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17713 @kindex s (Category)
17714 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17715 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17716 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17719 @kindex l (Category)
17720 @findex gnus-category-list
17721 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17725 @node Category Variables
17726 @subsubsection Category Variables
17729 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17730 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17731 Hook run in category buffers.
17733 @item gnus-category-line-format
17734 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17735 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17736 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17740 The name of the category.
17743 The number of groups in the category.
17746 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17747 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17748 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17750 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17751 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17752 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17754 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17755 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17756 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17758 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17759 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17760 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17763 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17764 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17765 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17768 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17769 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17770 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17771 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17772 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17773 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17774 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17775 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17779 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17780 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17781 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17782 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17783 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17784 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17785 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17790 @node Agent Commands
17791 @subsection Agent Commands
17792 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17793 @kindex J j (Agent)
17795 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17796 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17797 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17801 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17802 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17803 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17809 @node Group Agent Commands
17810 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17814 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17815 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17816 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17817 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17820 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17821 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17822 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17825 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17826 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17827 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17828 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17831 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17832 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17833 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17834 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17837 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17838 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17839 Add the current group to an Agent category
17840 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17841 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17844 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17845 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17846 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17847 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17848 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17851 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17852 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17853 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17859 @node Summary Agent Commands
17860 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17864 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17865 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17866 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17869 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17870 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17871 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17872 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17876 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17877 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17878 Toggle whether to download the article
17879 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17883 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17884 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17885 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17888 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17889 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17890 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17891 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17894 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17895 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17896 Download all processable articles in this group.
17897 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17900 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17901 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17902 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17903 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17908 @node Server Agent Commands
17909 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17913 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17914 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17915 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17916 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17919 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17920 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17921 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17922 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17927 @node Agent as Cache
17928 @subsection Agent as Cache
17930 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17931 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17932 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17933 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17934 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17935 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17936 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17937 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17938 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17940 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17941 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
17942 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
17943 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
17944 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap backend.
17947 @subsection Agent Expiry
17949 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17950 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17951 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17952 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
17953 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
17954 @cindex Agent expiry
17955 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17958 The Agent backend, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
17959 least it doesn't handle it like other backends. Instead, there are
17960 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
17961 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
17962 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
17963 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
17964 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
17965 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
17967 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17968 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17969 synchronized with the group.
17971 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
17972 prevent expiration in selected groups.
17974 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17975 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
17976 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
17977 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
17978 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
17979 be kept indefinitely.
17981 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17982 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
17983 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
17984 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
17986 @node Agent Regeneration
17987 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17989 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17990 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17991 @cindex regeneration
17993 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17994 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17995 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17996 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17997 internal inconsistencies.
17999 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18000 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18001 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18002 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18003 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18004 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18006 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18007 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18008 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18009 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18010 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18011 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18013 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18014 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18015 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18016 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18017 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18018 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18021 @node Agent and IMAP
18022 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18024 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18025 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18026 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18027 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18029 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18030 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18031 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18032 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18034 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18035 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18036 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18037 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18039 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18040 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18041 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18042 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18043 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18044 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18046 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18047 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18048 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18049 in the group buffer.
18051 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18052 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18057 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18060 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18064 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18065 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18066 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18067 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
18068 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18069 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18070 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18071 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18074 @node Outgoing Messages
18075 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18077 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18078 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18079 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18081 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18082 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18083 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18084 messages in the draft group.
18088 @node Agent Variables
18089 @subsection Agent Variables
18092 @item gnus-agent-directory
18093 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18094 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18095 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18097 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18098 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18099 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18100 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18101 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18104 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18105 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18106 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18108 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18109 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18110 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18112 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18113 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18114 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18116 @item gnus-agent-cache
18117 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18118 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18119 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18120 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18122 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18123 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18124 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18125 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18126 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18127 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18128 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18131 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18132 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18133 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18134 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18135 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18136 read. The default is t.
18138 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18139 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18140 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18141 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
18142 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
18144 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18145 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18146 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18147 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18148 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18149 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18150 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18151 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18152 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18153 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18154 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18155 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18158 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18159 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18160 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18161 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18162 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18163 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18164 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18165 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18166 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18168 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18169 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18170 Another variable that isn't a Agent variable, yet so closely related
18171 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18172 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18173 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18175 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18176 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18177 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18178 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18179 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18184 @node Example Setup
18185 @subsection Example Setup
18187 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18188 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18189 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18192 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18193 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18194 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18196 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18197 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18198 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18200 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18201 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18203 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18204 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18205 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18208 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18209 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18212 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18213 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18214 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18215 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18216 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18219 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18220 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18221 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18222 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18223 back all the killed groups.)
18225 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18226 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18227 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18230 @node Batching Agents
18231 @subsection Batching Agents
18232 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18234 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18235 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18236 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18238 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18239 following incantation:
18243 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18247 @node Agent Caveats
18248 @subsection Agent Caveats
18250 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18251 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18255 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18257 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18258 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18259 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18261 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18262 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18264 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18268 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18269 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18270 locally stored articles.
18277 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18278 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18279 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18282 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18283 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18284 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18285 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18286 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18288 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18289 before generating the summary buffer.
18291 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18292 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18293 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18295 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18296 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18297 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18298 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18301 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18302 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18303 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18304 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18305 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18306 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18307 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18308 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18309 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18310 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18311 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18312 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18313 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18314 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18315 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18316 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18317 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18321 @node Summary Score Commands
18322 @section Summary Score Commands
18323 @cindex score commands
18325 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18326 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18327 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18328 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18329 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18331 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18332 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18333 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18334 score file the current one.
18336 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18341 @kindex V s (Summary)
18342 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18343 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18346 @kindex V S (Summary)
18347 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18348 Display the score of the current article
18349 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18352 @kindex V t (Summary)
18353 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18354 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18355 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18356 can use @kbd{q} to quit. @kbd{e} edits the corresponding score file.
18357 When point is on a string within the match element, @kbd{e} will try to
18358 bring you to this string in the score file.
18361 @kindex V w (Summary)
18362 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18363 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18366 @kindex V R (Summary)
18367 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18368 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18369 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18370 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18371 effect you're having.
18374 @kindex V c (Summary)
18375 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18376 Make a different score file the current
18377 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18380 @kindex V e (Summary)
18381 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18382 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18383 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18387 @kindex V f (Summary)
18388 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18389 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18390 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18393 @kindex V F (Summary)
18394 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18395 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18396 after editing score files.
18399 @kindex V C (Summary)
18400 @findex gnus-score-customize
18401 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18402 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18406 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18411 @kindex V m (Summary)
18412 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18413 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18414 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18417 @kindex V x (Summary)
18418 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18419 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18420 expunge all articles below this score
18421 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18424 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18425 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18428 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18429 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18433 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18434 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18436 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18437 keys are available:
18441 Score on the author name.
18444 Score on the subject line.
18447 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18450 Score on the @code{References} line.
18456 Score on the number of lines.
18459 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18462 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18463 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18466 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18467 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18468 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18477 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18483 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18484 what headers you are scoring on.
18496 Substring matching.
18499 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18528 Greater than number.
18533 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18534 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18535 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18540 Temporary score entry.
18543 Permanent score entry.
18546 Immediately scoring.
18550 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18551 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18552 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18556 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18557 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18558 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18559 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18561 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18562 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18563 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18564 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18565 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18567 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18568 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18569 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18570 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18571 current score file.
18573 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18574 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18575 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18578 @node Group Score Commands
18579 @section Group Score Commands
18580 @cindex group score commands
18582 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18587 @kindex W f (Group)
18588 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18589 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18590 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18591 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18595 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18597 @findex gnus-batch-score
18598 @cindex batch scoring
18600 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18604 @node Score Variables
18605 @section Score Variables
18606 @cindex score variables
18610 @item gnus-use-scoring
18611 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18612 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18613 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18615 @item gnus-kill-killed
18616 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18617 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18618 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18619 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18620 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18621 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18622 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18624 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18625 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18626 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18627 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18628 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18630 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18631 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18632 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18633 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18635 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18636 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18637 @cindex score cache
18638 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18639 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18640 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18641 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18642 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18643 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18644 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18647 @item gnus-save-score
18648 @vindex gnus-save-score
18649 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18650 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18651 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18653 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18654 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18655 across group visits.
18657 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18658 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18659 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18660 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18661 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18662 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18663 manually entered data.
18665 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18666 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18667 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18669 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18670 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18671 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18672 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18673 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18674 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18676 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18677 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18678 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18679 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18681 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18682 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18683 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18684 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18686 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18687 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18688 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18689 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18691 Predefined functions available are:
18694 @item gnus-score-find-single
18695 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18696 Only apply the group's own score file.
18698 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18699 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18700 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18701 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18702 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18703 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18704 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18705 then a regexp match is done.
18707 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18708 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18710 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18711 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18712 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18713 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18715 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18716 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18717 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18718 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18719 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18723 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18724 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18725 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18726 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18727 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18728 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18729 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18732 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18733 overall score file, you could use the value
18735 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18736 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18739 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18740 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18741 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18742 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18743 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18745 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18746 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18747 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18748 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18749 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18750 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18751 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18752 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18754 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18755 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18756 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18758 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18759 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18760 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
18761 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18762 threading---according to the current value of
18763 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
18764 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18765 simplified in this manner.
18770 @node Score File Format
18771 @section Score File Format
18772 @cindex score file format
18774 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18775 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18776 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18778 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18782 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18784 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18786 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18788 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18793 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18797 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18798 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18799 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18800 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18804 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18805 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18807 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18808 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18809 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18811 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18816 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18817 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18818 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18819 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18820 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18821 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18822 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18823 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18824 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18825 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18826 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18827 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18828 to articles that matches these score entries.
18830 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18831 score entry has one to four elements.
18835 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18836 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18840 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18841 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18842 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18843 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18844 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18845 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18848 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18849 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18850 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18851 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18852 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18855 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18856 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18857 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18858 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18861 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18862 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18863 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18864 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18865 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18866 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18867 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18868 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18869 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18870 instead, if you feel like.
18873 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18874 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18875 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18876 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18877 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18878 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18881 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18885 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18886 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18888 These predicates are true if
18891 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18894 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18895 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18902 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18903 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18904 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18905 it's not. I think.)
18907 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18908 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18909 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18910 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18913 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18914 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18915 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18916 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18917 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18918 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18919 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18923 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18924 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18925 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18926 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18927 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18928 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18929 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18930 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18933 @item Head, Body, All
18934 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18938 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18939 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18940 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18941 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18942 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18943 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18944 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18948 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18949 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18950 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18951 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18952 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18953 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18954 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18955 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18956 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18957 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18958 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18962 @cindex Score File Atoms
18964 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18965 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18968 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18969 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18971 @item mark-and-expunge
18972 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18973 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18976 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18977 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18978 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18979 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18980 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18983 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18984 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18987 @item exclude-files
18988 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18989 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18993 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18994 ignored when handling global score files.
18997 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18998 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18999 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19000 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19003 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19004 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19005 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19006 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19008 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19012 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19015 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19016 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19017 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19018 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19019 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19021 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19022 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19023 scoring rules exist.
19026 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19027 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19028 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19029 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19030 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19031 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19032 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19033 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19034 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19035 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19036 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19040 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19041 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19042 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19043 file for a number of groups.
19046 @cindex local variables
19047 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19048 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19049 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19050 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19051 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19056 @node Score File Editing
19057 @section Score File Editing
19059 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19060 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19061 with a mode for that.
19063 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19064 additional commands:
19069 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19070 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19071 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19072 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19075 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19076 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19077 Insert the current date in numerical format
19078 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19079 you were wondering.
19082 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19083 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19084 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19085 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19086 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19091 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19093 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19094 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19096 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
19097 e} to begin editing score files.
19100 @node Adaptive Scoring
19101 @section Adaptive Scoring
19102 @cindex adaptive scoring
19104 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19105 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19106 stupidity, to be precise.
19108 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19109 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19110 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19111 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19112 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19113 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19114 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19115 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19116 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19118 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19119 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19120 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19121 might look something like this:
19124 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19125 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19126 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19127 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19128 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19129 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19130 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19131 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19132 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19133 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19134 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19135 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19138 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19139 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19140 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19141 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19142 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19143 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19146 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19147 will be applied to each article.
19149 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19150 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19151 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19152 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19154 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19155 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19156 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19157 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19159 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19160 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19161 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19162 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19164 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19165 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19166 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19167 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19168 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19169 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19171 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19172 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19173 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19175 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19176 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19177 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19179 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19180 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19181 let you use different rules in different groups.
19183 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19184 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19185 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19188 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19189 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19190 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19191 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19192 the length of the match is less than
19193 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19194 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19197 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19198 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19199 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19200 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19201 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19204 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19205 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19206 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19207 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19208 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19211 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19212 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19213 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19214 score with 30 points.
19216 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19217 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19218 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19219 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19220 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19222 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19223 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19224 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19225 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19226 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19228 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19229 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19230 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19231 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19233 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19234 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19235 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19236 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19238 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19239 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19240 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19241 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19242 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19244 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19245 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19246 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19248 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19249 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19250 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19251 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19254 @node Home Score File
19255 @section Home Score File
19257 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19258 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19259 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19260 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19262 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19263 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19264 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19266 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19267 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19272 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19276 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19277 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19281 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19285 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19286 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19289 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19290 be used as the home score file.
19293 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19296 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19301 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19304 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19305 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19308 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19309 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19311 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19313 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19314 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19317 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19318 Other functions include
19321 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19322 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19323 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19324 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19328 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19329 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19330 their own home score files:
19333 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19334 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19335 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19336 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19337 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19340 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19341 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19342 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19343 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19344 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19346 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19347 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19348 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19349 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19350 precedence over this variable.
19353 @node Followups To Yourself
19354 @section Followups To Yourself
19356 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19357 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19358 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19359 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19360 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19361 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19365 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19366 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19367 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19370 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19371 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19372 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19376 @vindex message-sent-hook
19377 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19378 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19380 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19384 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19385 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19389 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19390 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19393 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19394 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19399 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19403 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19404 is system-dependent.
19407 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19408 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19409 @cindex scoring on other headers
19411 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19412 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19413 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19414 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19415 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19417 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19418 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
19419 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
19420 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
19421 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19423 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19426 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19427 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19430 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19431 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19432 time if you have much mail.
19434 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19435 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19441 @section Scoring Tips
19442 @cindex scoring tips
19448 @cindex scoring crossposts
19449 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19450 the @code{Xref} header.
19452 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19455 @item Multiple crossposts
19456 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19457 more than, say, 3 groups:
19460 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19464 @item Matching on the body
19465 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19466 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19467 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19468 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19469 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19470 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19471 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19474 @item Marking as read
19475 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19476 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19477 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19481 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19483 @item Negated character classes
19484 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19485 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19486 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19490 @node Reverse Scoring
19491 @section Reverse Scoring
19492 @cindex reverse scoring
19494 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19495 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19496 like this in your score file:
19500 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19505 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19506 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19509 @node Global Score Files
19510 @section Global Score Files
19511 @cindex global score files
19513 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19514 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19515 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19517 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19518 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19519 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19521 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19522 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19523 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19524 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19525 files are applicable to which group.
19527 To use the score file
19528 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19529 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19533 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19534 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19535 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19538 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19540 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19541 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19542 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19543 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19545 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19546 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19548 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19549 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19550 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19551 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19552 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19553 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19555 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19561 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19563 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19565 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19567 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19568 lowered out of existence.
19570 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19571 articles completely.
19574 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19575 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19576 old articles for a long time.
19579 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19580 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19581 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19582 holding our breath yet?
19586 @section Kill Files
19589 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19590 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19591 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19593 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19594 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19595 files into score files.
19597 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19598 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19599 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19600 that isn't a very good idea.
19602 Normal kill files look like this:
19605 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19606 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19610 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19611 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19613 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19614 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19617 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
19622 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19623 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19624 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19627 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19628 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19629 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19632 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19637 @kindex M-k (Group)
19638 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19639 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19642 @kindex M-K (Group)
19643 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19644 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19647 Kill file variables:
19650 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19651 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19652 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19653 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19654 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19655 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19656 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19658 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19659 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19660 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19661 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19664 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19665 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19666 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19667 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19668 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19669 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19670 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19671 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19672 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19674 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19675 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19676 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19681 @node Converting Kill Files
19682 @section Converting Kill Files
19684 @cindex converting kill files
19686 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19687 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19688 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19691 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19692 You can fetch it from
19693 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19695 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19696 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19697 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19705 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/, GroupLens} is a
19706 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19707 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19708 news articles generated every day.
19710 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19711 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19712 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19713 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19714 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19715 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19716 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19717 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19720 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19721 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19724 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19725 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19726 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19727 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19731 @node Using GroupLens
19732 @subsection Using GroupLens
19734 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local
19735 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html, Better Bit
19736 Bureau (BBB)} is the only better bit in town at the moment.
19738 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19742 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19743 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19744 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19745 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19747 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19748 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19749 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19750 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19752 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19753 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19754 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19758 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19759 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19760 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19761 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19762 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19763 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19766 @node Rating Articles
19767 @subsection Rating Articles
19769 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19770 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19771 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19772 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19775 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19780 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19781 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19782 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19785 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19786 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19787 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19788 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19789 threads in rec.humor.
19793 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19794 the score of the article you're reading.
19799 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19800 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19801 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19804 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19805 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19806 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19810 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19811 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19814 @node Displaying Predictions
19815 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19817 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19818 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19819 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19820 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19821 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19823 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19824 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19825 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19826 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19827 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19828 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19829 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19830 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19831 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19832 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19833 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19834 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19835 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19837 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19838 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19839 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19840 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19842 The following are valid values for that variable.
19845 @item prediction-spot
19846 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19849 @item confidence-interval
19850 A numeric confidence interval.
19852 @item prediction-bar
19853 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19855 @item confidence-bar
19856 Numerical confidence.
19858 @item confidence-spot
19859 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19861 @item prediction-num
19862 Plain-old numeric value.
19864 @item confidence-plus-minus
19865 Prediction +/- confidence.
19870 @node GroupLens Variables
19871 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19875 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19876 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19877 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19878 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19881 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19882 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19885 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19886 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19888 @item grouplens-score-offset
19889 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19890 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19893 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19894 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19895 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19900 @node Advanced Scoring
19901 @section Advanced Scoring
19903 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19904 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19905 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19906 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19907 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19909 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19913 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19914 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19915 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19919 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19920 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19922 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19923 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19924 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19925 non-@code{nil} value.
19927 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19928 operator, and various match operators.
19935 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19936 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19937 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19942 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19943 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19944 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19949 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19950 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19954 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19955 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19956 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19957 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19958 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19959 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19960 the ancestry you want to go.
19962 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19963 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19964 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19965 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19966 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19969 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19970 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19972 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19973 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19976 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19977 when he's talking about Gnus:
19981 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19982 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19988 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19992 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19999 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20000 really don't want to read what he's written:
20004 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20005 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20009 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20010 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20011 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20018 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20019 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20020 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20021 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20025 The possibilities are endless.
20028 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20029 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20031 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20032 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20033 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20034 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20035 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20036 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20037 @samp{subject}) first.
20039 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20040 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20051 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20052 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20058 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20065 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20066 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20071 @section Score Decays
20072 @cindex score decays
20075 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20076 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20077 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20078 use them in any sensible way.
20080 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20081 @findex gnus-decay-score
20082 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20083 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20084 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20085 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20086 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20087 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20088 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20089 definition of that function:
20092 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20094 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20095 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20098 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
20100 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20102 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20105 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20106 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20107 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20108 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20112 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20115 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20118 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20122 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20123 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20124 the new score, which should be an integer.
20126 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20127 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20132 @include message.texi
20133 @chapter Emacs MIME
20134 @include emacs-mime.texi
20136 @include sieve.texi
20138 @c @include pgg.texi
20146 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20147 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20148 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20149 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20150 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20151 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20152 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20153 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20154 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20155 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20156 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20157 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20158 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20159 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20160 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20161 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20162 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20163 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20164 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20168 @node Process/Prefix
20169 @section Process/Prefix
20170 @cindex process/prefix convention
20172 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20173 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20175 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20176 command to be performed on.
20180 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20181 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20182 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20183 with the current one.
20185 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20186 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20187 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20189 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20190 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20193 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20194 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20196 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20199 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20200 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20201 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20202 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20204 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20205 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20206 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20207 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20208 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20209 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20210 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20211 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20213 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20214 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20215 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20216 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20217 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20221 @section Interactive
20222 @cindex interaction
20226 @item gnus-novice-user
20227 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20228 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20229 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20230 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20231 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20234 @item gnus-expert-user
20235 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20236 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20237 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20238 matter how strange.
20240 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20241 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20242 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20243 is @code{t} by default.
20245 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20246 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20247 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20252 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20253 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20254 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20256 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20257 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20258 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20259 rule of 900 to the current article.
20261 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20262 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20263 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20264 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20265 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20266 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20267 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20269 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20270 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20271 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20272 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20273 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20274 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20275 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20276 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20277 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20279 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20280 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20281 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20283 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20287 @node Formatting Variables
20288 @section Formatting Variables
20289 @cindex formatting variables
20291 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20292 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20293 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20294 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20295 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20298 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20299 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20300 lots of percentages everywhere.
20303 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20304 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20305 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20306 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20307 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20308 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20309 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20310 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20313 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20314 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20315 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20316 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20317 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20318 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20319 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20320 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20322 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20323 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20325 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20326 @findex gnus-update-format
20327 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20328 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20329 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20330 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20334 @node Formatting Basics
20335 @subsection Formatting Basics
20337 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20338 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20339 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20341 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20342 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20343 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20344 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20345 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20348 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20349 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20350 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20351 less than 4 characters wide.
20353 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20354 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20357 @node Mode Line Formatting
20358 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20360 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20361 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20362 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20363 with the following two differences:
20368 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20371 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20372 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20373 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20374 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20375 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20376 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20377 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20382 @node Advanced Formatting
20383 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20385 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20386 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20387 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20388 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20390 These are the valid modifiers:
20395 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20399 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20404 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20407 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20412 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20415 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20418 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20421 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20427 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20432 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20433 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20434 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20435 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20436 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20437 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20438 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20440 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20441 last operation, padding.
20443 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20444 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20445 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20446 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20447 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20448 the look of your lines.
20449 @xref{Compilation}.
20452 @node User-Defined Specs
20453 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20455 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20456 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20457 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20458 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20459 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20460 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20461 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20462 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20463 should protect against that.
20465 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20466 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20468 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20469 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20470 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20471 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20475 @node Formatting Fonts
20476 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20478 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20479 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20480 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20481 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20484 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20485 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20486 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20487 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20488 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20489 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20491 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20492 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20493 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20494 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20495 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20496 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20497 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20498 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20499 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20500 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20501 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20504 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20507 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20508 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20509 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20511 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20512 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20513 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20514 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20515 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20516 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20517 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20519 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20520 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20521 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20524 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20525 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20527 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20528 mode-line variables.
20530 @node Positioning Point
20531 @subsection Positioning Point
20533 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20534 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20535 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20537 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20539 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20540 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20541 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20543 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20544 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20545 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20550 @subsection Tabulation
20552 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20553 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20554 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20555 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20557 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20558 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20560 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20561 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20562 This is the soft tabulator.
20564 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20565 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20566 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20569 @node Wide Characters
20570 @subsection Wide Characters
20572 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20573 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20574 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20576 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20577 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20578 these countries, that's not true.
20580 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20581 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20582 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20583 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20587 @node Window Layout
20588 @section Window Layout
20589 @cindex window layout
20591 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20593 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20594 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20595 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20596 @code{t} by default.
20598 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20599 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20601 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20602 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20603 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20606 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20607 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20608 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20612 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20613 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20614 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20615 possible names is listed below.
20617 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20618 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20621 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20625 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20626 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20627 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20628 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20629 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20630 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20631 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20632 size spec per split.
20634 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20635 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20636 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20637 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20638 present) gets focus.
20640 Here's a more complicated example:
20643 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20644 (summary 0.25 point)
20645 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20649 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20650 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20651 occupy, not a percentage.
20653 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20654 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20655 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20656 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20657 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20660 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20663 (article (horizontal 1.0
20668 (summary 0.25 point)
20673 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20674 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20676 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20677 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20678 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20679 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20680 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20682 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20683 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20684 lines from the splits.
20686 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20690 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20691 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20692 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20693 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20694 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20695 size = number | frame-params
20696 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20699 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20700 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20701 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20702 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20704 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20705 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20706 @cindex window height
20707 @cindex window width
20708 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20709 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20710 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20711 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20712 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20713 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20715 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20716 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20717 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20718 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20720 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20721 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20722 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20723 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20724 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20725 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20726 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20727 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20728 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20729 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20730 configuration list.
20733 (gnus-configure-frame
20737 (article 0.3 point))
20745 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20746 @code{frame} split:
20749 (gnus-configure-frame
20752 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20754 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20755 (user-position . t)
20756 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20761 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20762 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20763 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20764 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20765 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20766 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20767 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20768 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20770 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20771 be found in its default value.
20773 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20774 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20775 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20779 (message (horizontal 1.0
20780 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20782 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20787 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20788 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20789 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20794 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20795 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20796 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20797 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20798 (name . "Message"))
20799 (message 1.0 point))))
20802 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20803 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20804 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20805 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20806 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20809 (gnus-add-configuration
20810 '(article (vertical 1.0
20812 (summary .25 point)
20816 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20817 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20818 Gnus has been loaded.
20820 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20821 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20822 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20823 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20824 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20826 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20827 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20828 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20831 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20835 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20836 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20851 (gnus-add-configuration
20854 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20856 (summary 0.16 point)
20859 (gnus-add-configuration
20862 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20863 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20869 @node Faces and Fonts
20870 @section Faces and Fonts
20875 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20876 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20877 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20882 @section Compilation
20883 @cindex compilation
20884 @cindex byte-compilation
20886 @findex gnus-compile
20888 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20889 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20890 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20891 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20892 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20893 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20894 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20895 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20898 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20899 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20900 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20901 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20902 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20905 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20906 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20907 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20908 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20909 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20914 @section Mode Lines
20917 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20918 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20919 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20920 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20921 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20922 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20923 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20926 @cindex display-time
20928 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20929 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20930 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20931 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20932 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20933 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20934 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20935 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20938 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20940 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20941 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20943 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20944 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20945 (length display-time-string)))))
20948 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20949 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20950 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20951 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20952 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20955 @node Highlighting and Menus
20956 @section Highlighting and Menus
20958 @cindex highlighting
20961 @vindex gnus-visual
20962 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20963 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20964 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20967 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20968 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20971 @item group-highlight
20972 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20973 @item summary-highlight
20974 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20975 @item article-highlight
20976 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20978 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20980 Create menus in the group buffer.
20982 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20984 Create menus in the article buffer.
20986 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20988 Create menus in the server buffer.
20990 Create menus in the score buffers.
20992 Create menus in all buffers.
20995 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20996 buffers, you could say something like:
20999 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21002 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21005 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21008 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21009 in all Gnus buffers.
21011 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21014 @item gnus-mouse-face
21015 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21016 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21017 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21021 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21025 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21026 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21027 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21029 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21030 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21031 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21033 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21034 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21035 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21037 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21038 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21039 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21041 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21042 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21043 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21045 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21046 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21047 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21058 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21059 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21060 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21061 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21062 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21066 @vindex gnus-carpal
21067 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21068 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21069 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21074 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21075 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21076 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21078 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21079 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21080 Face used on buttons.
21082 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21083 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21084 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21086 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21087 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21088 Buttons in the group buffer.
21090 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21091 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21092 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21094 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21095 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21096 Buttons in the server buffer.
21098 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21099 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21100 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21103 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21104 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21105 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21113 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21114 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21115 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21116 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21117 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21119 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21120 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21121 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21123 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21124 been idle for thirty minutes:
21127 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21130 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21134 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21137 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
21138 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21139 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21141 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21142 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21143 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21144 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21146 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21147 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21148 @var{idle} minutes.
21150 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21151 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21154 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21155 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21156 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21158 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21159 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21160 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21161 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21163 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21164 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21166 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21168 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21171 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21172 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21173 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21174 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21175 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21176 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21177 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21178 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21179 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21180 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21181 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21183 @findex gnus-demon-init
21184 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21185 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21186 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21187 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21188 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21190 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21191 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21192 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21201 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21202 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21204 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21205 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21206 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21207 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21210 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21211 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21212 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21213 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21215 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21216 this will make spam disappear.
21218 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21221 @item gnus-use-nocem
21222 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21223 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21226 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21227 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21228 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21229 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21230 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
21232 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21233 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21234 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21235 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
21236 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
21237 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21239 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
21240 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21242 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21243 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21244 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21245 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21246 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21247 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21248 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21249 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21250 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21251 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21253 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21254 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21257 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21260 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21261 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21264 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21267 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21270 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21271 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21273 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21274 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21275 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21276 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21278 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21279 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21282 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21284 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21292 This might be dangerous, though.
21294 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21295 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21296 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
21297 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21299 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21300 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21301 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21302 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21303 might then see old spam.
21305 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21306 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21307 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21308 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21309 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21312 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21313 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21314 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21315 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21319 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21320 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21321 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21322 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21329 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21330 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21331 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21333 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21334 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21335 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21336 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21337 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21338 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21339 @code{undo} function.
21341 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21342 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21343 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21344 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21345 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21346 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21347 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21348 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21349 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21350 never be totally undoable.
21352 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21353 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21355 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21356 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21357 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21358 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21362 @node Predicate Specifiers
21363 @section Predicate Specifiers
21364 @cindex predicate specifiers
21366 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21367 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21368 to type all that much.
21370 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21375 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21376 gnus-article-unread-p)
21379 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21380 functions all take one parameter.
21382 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21383 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21384 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21385 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21390 @section Moderation
21393 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21394 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21395 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21398 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21402 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21405 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21407 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21412 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21413 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21414 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21417 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21418 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21421 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21422 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21426 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21429 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21430 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21434 @node Image Enhancements
21435 @section Image Enhancements
21437 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
21438 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
21441 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21442 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21443 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21444 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21457 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21458 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
21459 over your shoulder as you read news.
21461 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21470 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21471 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21472 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21473 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21474 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21475 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21476 @code{GIF} formats.
21479 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21480 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21481 point your Web browser at
21482 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21484 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21485 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21487 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21488 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21491 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21495 @item gnus-picon-databases
21496 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21497 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21498 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21499 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21500 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21502 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21503 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21504 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21505 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21507 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21508 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21509 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21510 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21512 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21513 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21514 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21515 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21516 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21518 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21519 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21520 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21521 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
21526 @subsection Smileys
21531 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21536 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21537 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21539 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21540 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21543 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21546 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21547 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21548 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21549 text and maps that to file names.
21551 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21552 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21553 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21554 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21555 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21558 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21563 @item smiley-data-directory
21564 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21565 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21567 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21568 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21569 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21578 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21579 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21580 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21584 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21585 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
21586 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21587 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21595 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21596 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21597 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21598 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21600 The variable that controls this is the
21601 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21602 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21603 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21604 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21605 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21607 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21608 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21609 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21610 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21613 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21614 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21615 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21616 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21617 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21618 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21619 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21620 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21622 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21625 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21626 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21628 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21629 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21630 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21631 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21632 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21633 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21634 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21635 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21636 header data as a string.
21638 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21639 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21640 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21641 randomly generated data.
21643 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21644 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21645 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21646 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21647 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21649 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21650 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21653 (setq message-required-news-headers
21654 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21655 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21658 Using the last function would be something like this:
21661 (setq message-required-news-headers
21662 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21663 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21664 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21665 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21670 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21673 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21674 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21675 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21676 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21677 unusual directory structure.
21679 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21680 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21681 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21682 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21684 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21685 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21686 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21687 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21688 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21689 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21691 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21692 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21693 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21698 @subsubsection Toolbar
21702 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21703 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21704 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21705 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21706 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21708 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21709 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21710 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21712 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21713 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21714 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21716 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21717 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21718 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21729 @node Fuzzy Matching
21730 @section Fuzzy Matching
21731 @cindex fuzzy matching
21733 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21734 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21736 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21737 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21738 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21740 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21741 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21742 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21743 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21744 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21747 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21748 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21752 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21754 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21755 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21756 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21757 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21758 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21759 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21760 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21761 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21764 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21765 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21766 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21767 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21768 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21769 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21771 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21774 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21775 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21776 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21777 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21778 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21779 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21782 @node The problem of spam
21783 @subsection The problem of spam
21785 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21786 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21788 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21790 First, some background on spam.
21792 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21793 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21794 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21795 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21796 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21797 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21798 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21799 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21801 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21802 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21803 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21804 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21805 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21806 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21807 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21808 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21809 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21812 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21813 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21814 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21815 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21816 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21817 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21818 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21819 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21820 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21821 mail can be useful.
21823 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21824 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21825 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21826 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21827 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21828 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the
21829 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21830 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21831 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21833 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21834 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21835 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21836 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21837 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21838 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21839 because of the incident.
21841 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21842 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21843 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21844 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21845 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21846 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21847 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21848 to store the database of spam analyses.
21850 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21851 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21855 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21857 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21858 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21860 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21861 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21862 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21863 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21864 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21865 part of the mail address.)
21868 (setq message-default-news-headers
21869 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21872 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21873 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21878 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21879 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21880 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21886 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21887 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21888 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21889 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21891 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
21892 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21893 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21894 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21895 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21896 your fancy split rule in this way:
21901 (to "larsi" "misc")
21905 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21906 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21907 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21908 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21909 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21911 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21912 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21913 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21914 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21915 cosmic balance somewhat.
21917 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21918 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21919 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21920 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21925 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21926 @cindex SpamAssassin
21927 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21930 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21931 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21932 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21933 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21934 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21935 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21936 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21938 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21939 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21940 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21941 Specifiers}) follows.
21945 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21948 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21951 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21952 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21953 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21956 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21960 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21963 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21964 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21968 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21969 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21970 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21971 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21974 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21976 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21978 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21979 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21981 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21983 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21984 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21988 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21989 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21990 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21993 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21994 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21996 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21997 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21998 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22002 @subsection Hashcash
22005 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22006 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22007 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
22008 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22009 in smaller communities.
22011 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22012 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22013 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22014 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22015 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22016 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
22017 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22018 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22019 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22020 one of them separately.
22023 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22024 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22025 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22026 header. For more details, and for the external application
22027 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22028 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22029 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22031 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22035 (require 'hashcash)
22036 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22039 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
22040 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
22041 development contrib directory.
22043 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22047 @item hashcash-default-payment
22048 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22049 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22050 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22051 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22053 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22054 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22055 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22056 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22057 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22058 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22059 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22060 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22061 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22065 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22069 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22070 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22071 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22072 a useful contribution, however.
22074 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22075 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22076 @cindex spam filtering
22079 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22080 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
22081 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22082 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
22085 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
22086 the following keyboard commands:
22096 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22097 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22099 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22100 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22101 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22102 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22108 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22109 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22111 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22117 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22118 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22121 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22122 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22123 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22124 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22125 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22126 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22127 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22128 will be detected later.
22130 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22131 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22132 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22133 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22134 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22135 by customizing the corresponding variable
22136 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22137 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22138 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22139 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22140 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22141 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22142 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22145 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22146 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
22147 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
22148 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
22149 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
22150 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
22151 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
22152 will study them as spam samples.
22154 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22155 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
22156 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22157 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22158 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22159 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22160 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22161 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
22163 @defvar spam-ham-marks
22164 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22165 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
22166 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
22169 @defvar spam-spam-marks
22170 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22171 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
22174 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22175 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22176 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22177 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22178 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22179 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22182 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22183 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22184 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22185 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22186 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22187 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22188 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22189 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22190 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
22191 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22192 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
22194 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22195 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22197 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22198 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22199 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22200 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22201 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22202 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22203 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
22204 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
22205 the spam articles are only expired.
22207 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22208 must add the following to your fancy split list
22209 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22215 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22216 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22217 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22219 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22220 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22221 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22222 but you can customize it.
22224 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22226 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22227 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22228 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
22229 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22230 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22231 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22232 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down.
22234 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22236 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
22237 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
22238 longer spam or ham.}
22240 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22241 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22244 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
22245 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
22248 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22249 * BBDB Whitelists::
22251 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22253 * ifile spam filtering::
22254 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22255 * Extending the spam elisp package::
22258 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22259 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22260 @cindex spam filtering
22261 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22262 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22265 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22267 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22268 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22269 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22270 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22275 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22277 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22278 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22279 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22280 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22281 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22285 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22287 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22288 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22289 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22293 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22295 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22296 customizing the group parameters or the
22297 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22298 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22299 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22303 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
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 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22311 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22315 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22316 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22317 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22318 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22319 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22321 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22322 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22323 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22324 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22326 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22327 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22328 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22329 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22330 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22331 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22333 @node BBDB Whitelists
22334 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22335 @cindex spam filtering
22336 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22337 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22340 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22342 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22343 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22344 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22345 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22346 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22347 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22348 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22352 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22354 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22355 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22356 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22357 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22358 classified as spammers.
22362 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22364 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22365 customizing the group parameters or the
22366 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22367 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22368 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22369 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22370 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22375 @subsubsection Blackholes
22376 @cindex spam filtering
22377 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22380 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22382 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22383 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22384 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22385 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22386 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22387 contains outdated servers.
22389 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22390 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22391 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
22392 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
22393 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
22394 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22398 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22400 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22404 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22406 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22407 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
22411 @defvar spam-use-dig
22413 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22414 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22418 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22419 ham processor for blackholes.
22421 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22422 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22423 @cindex spam filtering
22424 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22427 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22429 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22430 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22431 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22432 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22433 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22434 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22438 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22440 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22441 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22445 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22447 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22448 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22452 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22453 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22456 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22457 @cindex spam filtering
22458 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22461 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22463 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22466 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22467 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22468 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22469 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22470 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22471 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22473 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
22474 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
22477 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22478 processing will be turned off.
22480 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22484 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22486 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22487 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22488 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22489 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22490 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22491 installation documents for details.
22493 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22497 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22498 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22499 customizing the group parameters or the
22500 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22501 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22502 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22505 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22506 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22507 customizing the group parameters or the
22508 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22509 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22510 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22511 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22512 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22515 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22517 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22518 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22519 database directory.
22523 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
22524 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22525 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22526 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22527 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22528 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
22530 @node ifile spam filtering
22531 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
22532 @cindex spam filtering
22533 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
22536 @defvar spam-use-ifile
22538 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
22539 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
22543 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
22545 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
22546 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
22547 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
22551 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
22553 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
22554 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
22555 the default value of @samp{spam}.
22558 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
22560 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
22561 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
22565 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
22566 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22567 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
22568 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
22571 @node spam-stat spam filtering
22572 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
22573 @cindex spam filtering
22574 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
22578 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
22580 @defvar spam-use-stat
22582 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
22583 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
22587 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
22588 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22589 customizing the group parameters or the
22590 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22591 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22592 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
22595 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
22596 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22597 customizing the group parameters or the
22598 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22599 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22600 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
22601 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22602 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22605 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
22606 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
22607 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
22608 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
22611 @node Extending the spam elisp package
22612 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
22613 @cindex spam filtering
22614 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
22615 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
22617 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
22618 incoming mail, provide the following:
22626 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
22627 "True if blackbox should be used.")
22632 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
22634 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
22639 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
22640 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
22641 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
22643 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
22644 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
22645 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
22649 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
22656 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
22657 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22660 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22661 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22662 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22664 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22665 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22666 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22674 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22675 (spam-generic-register-routine
22676 ;; @r{the spam function}
22678 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22679 (when (stringp from)
22680 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22681 ;; @r{the ham function}
22684 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22685 (spam-generic-register-routine
22686 ;; @r{the spam function}
22688 ;; @r{the ham function}
22690 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22691 (when (stringp from)
22692 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22695 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22696 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22697 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22698 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22699 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22700 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22705 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22706 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22707 @cindex Paul Graham
22708 @cindex Graham, Paul
22709 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22710 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22711 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22713 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22714 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22715 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22716 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22717 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22718 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22719 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22720 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22721 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22724 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22725 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22726 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22727 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22728 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22729 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22730 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22731 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22733 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22734 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22735 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22736 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22737 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22740 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22741 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22742 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22745 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22746 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22748 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22749 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22750 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22751 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22752 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22754 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22755 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22756 per mail. Use the following:
22758 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22759 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22760 is treated as one spam mail.
22763 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22764 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22765 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22768 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22769 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22770 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22771 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22772 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22773 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22775 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
22776 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
22777 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22778 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22779 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22782 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
22783 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22784 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22785 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22788 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22789 reset the dictionary.
22791 @defun spam-stat-reset
22792 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22795 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22796 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22797 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22798 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22799 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22800 only non-spam mails.
22802 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22803 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22804 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22807 @defun spam-stat-save
22808 Save the dictionary.
22811 @defvar spam-stat-file
22812 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22813 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22816 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22817 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22819 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22820 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22823 (require 'spam-stat)
22827 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22830 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22831 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22832 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22833 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22835 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22836 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22837 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22838 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22841 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22842 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22846 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22847 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22850 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22851 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22852 expression are considered potential spam.
22855 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22856 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22857 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22861 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22862 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22863 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22864 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22865 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22868 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22869 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22870 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22874 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22875 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22876 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22877 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22878 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22882 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22883 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22884 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22885 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22890 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22891 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22893 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22895 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22896 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22897 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22900 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22901 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22902 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22905 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22906 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22907 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22908 already been processed as non-spam.
22911 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22912 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22913 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22914 been processed as spam.
22917 @defun spam-stat-save
22918 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22919 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22922 @defun spam-stat-load
22923 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22924 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22927 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22928 Return the spam score for a word.
22931 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22932 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22935 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22936 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22937 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22940 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22941 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22944 (require 'spam-stat)
22948 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22951 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22952 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22953 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22954 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22955 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22956 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22957 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22958 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22959 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22960 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22961 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22962 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22963 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22964 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22967 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22970 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22971 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22972 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22973 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22974 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22975 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22978 @node Various Various
22979 @section Various Various
22985 @item gnus-home-directory
22986 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22987 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22988 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22990 @item gnus-directory
22991 @vindex gnus-directory
22992 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22993 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
22994 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22996 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22997 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22998 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22999 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
23001 @item gnus-default-directory
23002 @vindex gnus-default-directory
23003 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
23004 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
23005 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
23006 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
23007 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
23008 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
23011 @vindex gnus-verbose
23012 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
23013 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
23014 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
23015 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
23016 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
23018 @item gnus-verbose-backends
23019 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
23020 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
23021 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
23023 @item nnheader-max-head-length
23024 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
23025 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
23026 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
23027 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
23028 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
23029 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
23030 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
23031 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
23032 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
23034 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
23035 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
23036 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
23037 read when doing the operation described above.
23039 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23040 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23042 @cindex invalid characters in file names
23043 @cindex characters in file names
23044 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
23045 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
23046 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
23049 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23053 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
23054 Windows (phooey) systems.
23056 @item gnus-hidden-properties
23057 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
23058 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
23059 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
23060 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
23062 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
23063 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
23064 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
23065 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
23066 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
23068 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
23069 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
23070 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
23072 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23073 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23075 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
23076 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
23077 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
23078 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
23081 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23089 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23090 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23092 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23094 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
23100 Not because of victories @*
23103 but for the common sunshine,@*
23105 the largess of the spring.
23109 but for the day's work done@*
23110 as well as I was able;@*
23111 not for a seat upon the dais@*
23112 but at the common table.@*
23117 @chapter Appendices
23120 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
23121 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
23122 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
23123 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
23124 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
23125 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
23126 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
23127 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
23128 * Frequently Asked Questions::
23135 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
23137 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
23138 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
23139 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
23140 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
23141 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
23142 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
23149 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
23150 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
23152 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
23153 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
23154 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
23155 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
23156 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
23158 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
23159 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
23160 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
23161 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
23162 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
23163 appropriate name, don't you think?)
23165 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
23166 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
23167 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
23168 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
23171 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
23172 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
23173 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
23174 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
23175 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
23176 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
23177 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
23178 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
23179 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
23183 @node Gnus Versions
23184 @subsection Gnus Versions
23186 @cindex September Gnus
23188 @cindex Quassia Gnus
23189 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
23192 @cindex Gnus versions
23194 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
23195 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
23196 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
23198 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
23199 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
23201 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
23202 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
23204 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
23205 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
23207 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
23208 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
23211 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
23213 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
23214 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
23215 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
23216 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
23217 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
23218 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
23221 @node Other Gnus Versions
23222 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
23225 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
23226 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
23227 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
23228 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
23230 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
23231 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
23232 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
23233 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
23240 What's the point of Gnus?
23242 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
23243 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
23244 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
23245 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
23246 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
23247 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
23248 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
23249 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
23250 keep track of millions of people who post?
23252 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
23253 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
23254 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
23255 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
23256 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
23257 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
23258 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
23259 every one of you to explore and invent.
23261 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
23262 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
23265 @node Compatibility
23266 @subsection Compatibility
23268 @cindex compatibility
23269 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23270 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23271 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23276 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23280 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23283 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23286 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23287 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23288 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23289 important variables have their values copied into their global
23290 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23291 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23293 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23294 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23295 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23296 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23297 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23301 @cindex highlighting
23302 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23303 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23304 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23305 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23306 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23307 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23310 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23311 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23312 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23313 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23315 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23316 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23317 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23318 to stop doing it the old way.
23320 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23322 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23324 @cindex reporting bugs
23326 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23327 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23328 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23330 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23331 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23332 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23333 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23338 @subsection Conformity
23340 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23341 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23349 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23353 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23355 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23356 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23357 We do have some breaches to this one.
23363 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23364 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23365 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23366 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23367 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23372 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23373 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23374 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23375 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23377 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23379 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
23381 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23382 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23384 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23387 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
23388 published as a Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
23389 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
23390 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
23391 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
23394 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23395 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23396 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23397 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23399 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23400 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
23402 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23403 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
23404 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
23405 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
23406 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
23407 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
23408 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
23409 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
23413 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23414 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23419 @subsection Emacsen
23425 Gnus should work on :
23433 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
23437 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
23438 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
23439 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
23440 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
23441 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
23443 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
23444 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
23445 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
23449 @node Gnus Development
23450 @subsection Gnus Development
23452 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
23453 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
23454 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
23455 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
23456 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
23457 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
23458 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
23459 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
23461 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
23462 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
23463 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
23464 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
23465 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
23468 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
23469 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
23470 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
23471 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
23472 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
23474 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
23475 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
23476 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
23477 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
23478 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
23479 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
23480 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
23481 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
23482 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
23483 can't be assumed to do so.
23488 @subsection Contributors
23489 @cindex contributors
23491 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
23492 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
23493 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
23494 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
23495 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
23496 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
23497 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
23498 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
23499 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
23500 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
23502 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
23508 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
23511 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
23512 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
23513 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
23514 functionality and stuff.
23517 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
23518 well as numerous other things).
23521 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
23524 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
23527 Justin Sheehy--the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
23530 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
23533 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
23534 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
23537 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
23540 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
23541 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23544 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
23547 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
23550 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
23553 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
23556 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
23557 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
23560 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
23563 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
23566 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
23569 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
23573 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
23576 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
23579 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
23582 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
23583 well as autoconf support.
23587 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
23588 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
23590 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
23605 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
23607 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
23611 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
23621 Alexei V. Barantsev,
23636 Massimo Campostrini,
23641 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
23642 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
23646 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
23649 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
23655 Michael Welsh Duggan,
23660 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
23664 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
23672 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23674 Michelangelo Grigni,
23678 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23680 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
23682 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23689 François Felix Ingrand,
23690 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
23691 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23693 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23703 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23704 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23706 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23707 Thor Kristoffersen,
23710 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23728 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23729 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23736 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23741 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23745 John McClary Prevost,
23751 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23756 Christian von Roques,
23759 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23766 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23768 Randal L. Schwartz,
23782 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23787 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23807 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23808 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23809 (550kB and counting).
23811 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23814 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23815 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23819 @subsection New Features
23820 @cindex new features
23823 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23824 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23825 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23826 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23827 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23830 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23831 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23832 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23835 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23837 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23842 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23843 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23846 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
23847 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23850 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23853 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23854 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23855 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23858 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23859 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23860 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23861 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23864 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23865 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23868 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23869 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23870 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23873 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23874 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23877 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23878 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23879 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23882 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23883 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23884 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23887 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
23888 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
23891 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23892 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23895 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23896 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23899 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23900 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23903 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23904 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23907 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23908 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23911 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23914 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23915 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23918 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23919 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23922 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23923 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23926 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23929 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23930 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23933 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23937 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23941 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23942 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23945 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23951 @node September Gnus
23952 @subsubsection September Gnus
23956 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23960 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23965 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23966 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23970 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23971 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23975 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23979 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23980 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23983 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23987 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23990 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23993 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23996 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
24000 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
24001 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
24004 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
24008 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
24012 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
24016 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
24020 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
24023 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
24024 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
24027 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
24031 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
24032 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
24035 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
24038 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
24039 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
24040 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24043 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
24047 The Gnus cache is much faster.
24050 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
24054 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
24055 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24058 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
24059 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
24062 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
24063 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
24066 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
24067 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
24068 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
24071 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
24072 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
24075 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
24078 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24081 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
24084 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
24087 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
24088 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
24091 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24095 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
24098 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
24103 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
24106 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
24110 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24113 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
24117 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
24120 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
24123 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
24124 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24127 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
24128 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
24132 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
24133 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
24136 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
24140 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
24141 buffer to allow easier treatment.
24144 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
24147 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
24151 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
24155 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
24156 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
24159 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
24163 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
24164 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24167 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
24168 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24171 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
24175 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24178 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
24181 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
24187 @subsubsection Red Gnus
24189 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
24193 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
24200 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
24203 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
24204 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24207 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
24208 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
24212 Article washing status can be displayed in the
24213 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
24216 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
24219 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
24220 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
24223 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
24227 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
24228 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
24232 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
24233 Server Internals}).
24236 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
24240 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
24243 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
24244 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
24247 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
24248 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
24249 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
24252 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
24253 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24256 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
24257 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
24260 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
24264 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
24265 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24268 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
24269 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24272 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24276 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24279 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24283 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24284 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24287 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24288 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24291 A new command for reading collections of documents
24292 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24293 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24296 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24300 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
24301 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24304 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24305 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24306 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24309 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24310 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24314 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24318 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24322 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24327 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24331 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24335 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24336 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24339 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24345 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24347 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24352 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24353 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
24354 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
24357 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24358 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24359 group, which is created automatically.
24362 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24366 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24369 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24370 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24373 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24377 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24380 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24381 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24384 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24387 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
24388 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
24391 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24392 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24395 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24396 control over simplification.
24399 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24402 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24406 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24409 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24412 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24413 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24414 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24417 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24418 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24421 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
24425 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
24426 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
24429 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
24430 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
24433 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
24437 A history of where mails have been split is available.
24440 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
24443 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
24444 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
24447 A new function for citing in Message has been
24448 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
24451 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
24454 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
24458 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
24459 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
24462 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
24463 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
24466 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
24469 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
24473 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
24474 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
24476 New features in Gnus 5.8:
24481 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
24482 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
24484 If you used procmail like in
24487 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
24488 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
24489 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
24490 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
24493 this now has changed to
24497 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
24501 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
24502 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
24505 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
24506 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
24509 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
24510 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
24513 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
24514 called to position point.
24517 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
24518 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
24521 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
24522 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
24525 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
24526 subtly different manner.
24529 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
24530 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
24531 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
24534 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
24542 @section The Manual
24546 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
24547 either @code{texi2dvi}
24549 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
24550 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
24552 to get what you hold in your hands now.
24554 The following conventions have been used:
24559 This is a @samp{string}
24562 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
24565 This is a @file{file}
24568 This is a @code{symbol}
24572 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
24576 (setq flargnoze "yes")
24579 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
24582 (setq flumphel 'yes)
24585 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
24586 ever get them confused.
24590 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
24591 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
24592 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
24593 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
24594 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
24595 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
24596 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
24602 @node On Writing Manuals
24603 @section On Writing Manuals
24605 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
24606 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
24607 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
24608 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
24609 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
24610 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
24613 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
24614 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
24615 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
24618 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
24619 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
24624 @section Terminology
24626 @cindex terminology
24631 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
24632 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
24633 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
24634 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
24635 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
24639 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
24640 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
24641 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
24642 not posting, and replying is not following up.
24646 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
24650 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
24655 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
24656 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
24657 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
24658 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
24659 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a `front end' and a number of
24660 `back ends'. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
24661 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
24662 Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a back end and says things like
24663 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
24666 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
24667 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
24668 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
24669 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
24670 `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
24671 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
24673 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
24674 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
24675 access the articles.
24677 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24678 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24679 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24684 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24685 default, way of getting news.
24689 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24690 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24695 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24696 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24700 A message that has been posted as news.
24703 @cindex mail message
24704 A message that has been mailed.
24708 A mail message or news article
24712 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24717 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24722 A line from the head of an article.
24726 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24727 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
24729 @item @acronym{NOV}
24731 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24732 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24733 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24734 normal @sc{head} format.
24738 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24739 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24740 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24741 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24742 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24743 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24745 @item killed groups
24746 @cindex killed groups
24747 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24748 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24750 @item zombie groups
24751 @cindex zombie groups
24752 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24755 @cindex active file
24756 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24757 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24758 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24761 @cindex bogus groups
24762 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24763 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24764 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24767 @cindex activating groups
24768 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24769 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24770 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24774 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24776 @item select method
24777 @cindex select method
24778 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24781 @item virtual server
24782 @cindex virtual server
24783 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24784 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24785 whole is a virtual server.
24789 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24790 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24793 @item ephemeral groups
24794 @cindex ephemeral groups
24795 @cindex temporary groups
24796 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24797 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24798 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24801 @cindex solid groups
24802 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24803 group buffer are solid groups.
24805 @item sparse articles
24806 @cindex sparse articles
24807 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24808 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24812 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24813 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24817 @cindex thread root
24818 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24819 articles in the thread.
24823 An article that has responses.
24827 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24831 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24832 specified by RFC 1153.
24838 @node Customization
24839 @section Customization
24840 @cindex general customization
24842 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24843 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24844 for some quite common situations.
24847 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24848 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24849 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24850 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24854 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24855 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24857 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24858 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24859 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
24863 @item gnus-read-active-file
24864 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24865 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24866 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24867 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24868 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24870 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24871 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24872 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
24873 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24877 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24878 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24880 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24881 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24882 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24886 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24887 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24888 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24889 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24890 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24892 @item gnus-visible-headers
24893 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24894 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24895 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24896 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24898 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24900 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24901 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24902 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24905 @item gnus-use-full-window
24906 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24907 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24908 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24909 want to read them anyway.
24911 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24912 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24916 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24917 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24918 lines, which might save some time.
24922 @node Little Disk Space
24923 @subsection Little Disk Space
24926 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24927 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24931 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24932 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24933 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24934 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24937 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24938 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24939 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24940 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24943 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24944 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24945 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24946 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24947 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24953 @subsection Slow Machine
24954 @cindex slow machine
24956 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24957 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24959 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24960 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24962 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24963 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24964 summary buffer faster.
24968 @node Troubleshooting
24969 @section Troubleshooting
24970 @cindex troubleshooting
24972 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24980 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24983 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24984 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24988 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24989 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24990 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24991 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24992 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24995 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
24996 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
24999 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
25000 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
25001 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
25002 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
25003 something like that.
25006 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
25009 @cindex reporting bugs
25011 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25013 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
25014 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
25015 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
25016 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
25018 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
25019 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
25020 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
25021 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
25024 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
25025 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
25026 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
25027 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
25028 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
25029 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
25031 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
25032 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
25033 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
25037 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
25038 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
25041 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
25042 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
25043 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
25044 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
25045 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
25046 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
25047 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
25048 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
25049 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
25050 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
25051 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
25052 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
25053 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
25054 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
25059 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
25060 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
25061 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
25062 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
25063 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
25064 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
25065 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
25066 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
25067 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
25068 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET message}. Then perform
25069 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
25070 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
25071 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
25072 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
25073 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
25074 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
25075 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
25076 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
25078 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
25079 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
25081 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
25082 @cindex ding mailing list
25083 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@email{ding@@gnus.org}.
25084 Write to @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
25088 @node Gnus Reference Guide
25089 @section Gnus Reference Guide
25091 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
25092 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
25093 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
25094 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
25097 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
25098 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
25099 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
25100 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
25101 and general methods of operation.
25104 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
25105 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
25106 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
25107 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
25108 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
25109 * Group Info:: The group info format.
25110 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
25111 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
25112 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
25116 @node Gnus Utility Functions
25117 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
25118 @cindex Gnus utility functions
25119 @cindex utility functions
25121 @cindex internal variables
25123 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
25124 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
25125 Below is a list of the most common ones.
25129 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
25130 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
25131 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
25133 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
25134 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
25135 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
25137 @item gnus-group-real-name
25138 @findex gnus-group-real-name
25139 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
25142 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
25143 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
25144 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
25145 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
25147 @item gnus-get-info
25148 @findex gnus-get-info
25149 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
25151 @item gnus-group-unread
25152 @findex gnus-group-unread
25153 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
25157 @findex gnus-active
25158 The active entry for @var{group}.
25160 @item gnus-set-active
25161 @findex gnus-set-active
25162 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
25164 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25165 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25166 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
25169 @item gnus-continuum-version
25170 @findex gnus-continuum-version
25171 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
25172 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
25175 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
25176 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
25177 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
25179 @item gnus-news-group-p
25180 @findex gnus-news-group-p
25181 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
25183 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25184 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25185 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
25187 @item gnus-server-to-method
25188 @findex gnus-server-to-method
25189 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
25191 @item gnus-server-equal
25192 @findex gnus-server-equal
25193 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
25195 @item gnus-group-native-p
25196 @findex gnus-group-native-p
25197 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
25199 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
25200 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
25201 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
25203 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
25204 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
25205 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
25207 @item group-group-find-parameter
25208 @findex group-group-find-parameter
25209 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
25210 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
25212 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
25213 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
25214 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
25216 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
25217 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
25218 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
25220 @item gnus-check-backend-function
25221 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
25222 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
25223 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
25226 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
25230 @item gnus-read-method
25231 @findex gnus-read-method
25232 Prompts the user for a select method.
25237 @node Back End Interface
25238 @subsection Back End Interface
25240 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
25241 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
25242 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
25243 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
25244 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
25245 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
25247 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
25248 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
25249 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
25250 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
25251 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
25252 been opened, the function should fail.
25254 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
25255 name. Take this example:
25259 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
25260 (nntp-port-number 4324))
25263 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
25264 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
25266 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
25267 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
25268 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
25270 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
25271 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
25272 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
25274 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
25275 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
25276 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
25277 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
25278 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
25279 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
25282 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
25283 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
25284 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
25285 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
25288 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
25289 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
25290 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
25291 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
25292 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
25293 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
25294 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
25295 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
25296 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
25297 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
25299 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
25300 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
25301 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
25302 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
25303 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
25304 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
25305 of numbers as long as possible.
25307 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
25308 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
25309 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
25311 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
25314 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
25317 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
25318 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
25319 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
25320 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
25321 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
25322 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
25326 @node Required Back End Functions
25327 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
25331 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
25333 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
25334 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
25335 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
25336 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
25338 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
25339 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
25340 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
25341 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
25343 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
25344 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
25345 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
25346 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
25347 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
25348 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
25349 number, do maximum fetches.
25351 Here's an example HEAD:
25354 221 1056 Article retrieved.
25355 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
25356 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
25357 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
25358 Subject: Re: Something very droll
25359 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
25360 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
25362 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
25363 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
25364 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
25368 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
25369 these in the data buffer.
25371 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
25375 head = error / valid-head
25376 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
25377 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
25378 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
25379 header = <text> eol
25383 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
25385 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
25386 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
25390 nov-buffer = *nov-line
25391 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
25392 field = <text except TAB>
25395 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
25399 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
25401 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
25402 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
25404 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
25405 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
25406 server. In fact, it should do so.
25408 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
25409 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
25412 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
25414 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
25415 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
25418 There should be no data returned.
25421 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
25423 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
25424 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
25425 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
25426 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
25428 There should be no data returned.
25431 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
25433 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
25434 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
25435 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
25436 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
25438 There should be no data returned.
25441 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
25443 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
25445 There should be no data returned.
25448 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
25450 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
25451 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
25452 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
25453 it would be nice if that were possible.
25455 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
25456 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
25457 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
25458 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
25459 into its article buffer.
25461 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
25462 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
25463 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
25464 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
25465 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
25466 on successful article retrieval.
25469 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
25471 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
25472 making @var{group} the current group.
25474 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
25477 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
25480 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
25483 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
25484 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
25485 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
25486 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
25487 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
25488 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
25489 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
25490 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
25491 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
25495 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
25496 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
25497 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
25501 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25503 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
25504 a no-op on most back ends.
25506 There should be no data returned.
25509 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
25511 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
25514 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
25517 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
25518 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
25521 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
25522 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
25523 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
25524 and the highest as 0.
25527 active-file = *active-line
25528 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
25530 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
25533 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
25534 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
25535 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
25538 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
25540 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
25541 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
25542 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
25543 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
25544 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
25545 clear if the posting could not be completed.
25547 There should be no result data from this function.
25552 @node Optional Back End Functions
25553 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
25557 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
25559 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
25560 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
25561 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
25563 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
25564 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
25565 former is in the same format as the data from
25566 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
25567 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
25570 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
25574 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
25576 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
25577 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
25578 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
25579 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
25580 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
25582 There should be no result data from this function.
25585 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
25587 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
25588 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
25589 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
25590 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
25591 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
25592 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
25593 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
25594 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
25596 There should be no result data from this function.
25599 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
25601 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
25602 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
25603 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
25604 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
25605 propagate the mark information to the server.
25607 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
25610 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
25613 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
25614 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
25615 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
25616 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
25617 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
25618 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
25619 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
25620 possible, not limit itself to these.
25622 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
25623 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
25624 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
25625 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
25627 An example action list:
25630 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
25631 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
25632 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
25635 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
25636 mark on (currently not used for anything).
25638 There should be no result data from this function.
25640 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
25642 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
25643 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
25644 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
25645 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
25646 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
25648 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
25649 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
25650 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
25653 There should be no result data from this function.
25656 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
25658 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
25659 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
25660 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
25661 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
25662 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
25663 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
25664 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
25665 local if that's practical.
25667 There should be no result data from this function.
25670 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
25672 The result data from this function should be a description of
25676 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
25678 description = <text>
25681 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25683 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25684 groups available on the server.
25687 description-buffer = *description-line
25691 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25693 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25694 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25695 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25696 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25697 in the active buffer format.
25699 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25700 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25701 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25702 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25703 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25704 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25705 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25708 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25710 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25712 There should be no return data.
25715 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25717 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25718 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25719 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25720 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25721 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25724 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25727 There should be no result data returned.
25730 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
25732 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25733 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25735 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25736 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25737 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25738 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25739 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25740 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25742 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25743 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25746 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25747 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25749 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25750 article for that group.
25752 There should be no data returned.
25755 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25757 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25758 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25759 this function in short order.
25761 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25762 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25764 There should be no data returned.
25767 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25769 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25770 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25772 There should be no data returned.
25775 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25777 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25778 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25779 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25781 There should be no data returned.
25784 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25786 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25787 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25789 There should be no data returned.
25794 @node Error Messaging
25795 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25797 @findex nnheader-report
25798 @findex nnheader-get-report
25799 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25800 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25801 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25802 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25803 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25804 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25807 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25809 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25812 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25813 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25814 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25815 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25817 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25818 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25819 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25822 @node Writing New Back Ends
25823 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25825 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25826 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25827 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25828 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25829 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25832 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25833 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25834 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25836 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25837 package called @code{nnoo}.
25839 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25840 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25846 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25847 parameters. For instance:
25850 (nnoo-declare nndir
25854 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25855 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25858 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25859 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25860 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25862 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25863 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25864 a function in those back ends.
25867 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25868 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25869 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25872 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25873 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25874 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25876 @item nnoo-define-basics
25877 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25881 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25885 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25886 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25887 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25889 @item nnoo-map-functions
25890 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25891 functions from the parent back ends.
25894 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25895 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25896 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25899 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25900 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25901 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25902 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25905 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25906 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25907 haven't already been defined.
25913 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25917 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25918 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25919 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25924 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25927 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
25928 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
25932 (require 'nnheader)
25936 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25938 (nnoo-declare nndir
25941 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25942 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25943 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25945 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25946 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25949 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25951 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25952 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25953 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25955 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25956 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25958 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
25960 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25962 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25963 (setq nndir-directory
25964 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25966 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25967 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25968 (push `(nndir-current-group
25969 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25970 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25972 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25973 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25975 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25977 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25978 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25979 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25980 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25981 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25985 nnmh-status-message
25987 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25993 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25994 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25996 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25997 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25998 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25999 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
26000 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
26002 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
26003 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
26008 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
26011 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
26013 The abilities can be:
26017 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
26019 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
26021 This back end supports both mail and news.
26023 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
26026 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
26027 articles and groups.
26029 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
26030 true for almost all back ends.
26031 @item prompt-address
26032 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
26033 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
26034 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
26038 @node Mail-like Back Ends
26039 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
26041 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
26042 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
26043 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
26044 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
26047 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
26048 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
26049 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
26052 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
26053 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
26056 This function takes four parameters.
26060 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
26063 @item exit-function
26064 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
26066 @item temp-directory
26067 Where the temporary files should be stored.
26070 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
26071 performed for one group only.
26074 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
26075 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
26076 find the article number assigned to this article.
26078 The function also uses the following variables:
26079 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
26080 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
26081 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
26082 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
26086 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
26087 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
26091 @node Score File Syntax
26092 @subsection Score File Syntax
26094 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
26095 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
26096 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
26098 Here's a typical score file:
26102 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
26109 BNF definition of a score file:
26112 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
26113 element = rule / atom
26114 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
26115 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
26116 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
26117 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
26119 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
26120 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
26121 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
26122 date-header = "date"
26123 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26124 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26125 score = "nil" / <integer>
26126 date = "nil" / <natural number>
26127 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
26128 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
26129 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
26130 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
26131 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26132 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26133 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
26134 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26135 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
26136 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
26137 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
26138 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
26139 exclude-files / read-only / touched
26140 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
26141 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
26142 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
26143 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
26144 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
26145 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
26146 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
26147 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
26148 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
26149 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
26150 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
26151 eval = "eval" space <form>
26152 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
26155 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
26158 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
26159 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
26160 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
26161 one looong line, then that's ok.
26163 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
26164 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26168 @subsection Headers
26170 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
26171 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
26172 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
26173 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
26175 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
26176 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
26177 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
26178 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
26179 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
26180 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
26181 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
26183 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
26184 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
26185 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
26186 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
26187 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
26189 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
26190 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
26196 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
26197 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
26199 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
26200 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
26201 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
26202 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
26204 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
26208 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
26211 is transformed into
26214 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
26217 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
26218 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
26221 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
26224 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
26225 is slightly tricky:
26228 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
26234 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
26237 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
26243 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
26250 and is equal to the previous range.
26252 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
26253 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
26254 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
26258 range = simple-range / normal-range
26259 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
26260 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
26261 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
26262 number *[ " " contents ]
26265 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
26266 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
26267 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
26268 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
26269 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
26274 @subsection Group Info
26276 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
26277 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
26278 describes the group.
26280 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
26281 second is a more complex one:
26284 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
26286 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
26287 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
26289 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
26292 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
26293 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
26294 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
26295 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
26296 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
26297 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
26298 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
26299 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
26300 this section is about.
26302 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
26303 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
26304 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
26306 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
26309 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
26310 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
26311 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26312 group = quote <string> quote
26313 ralevel = rank / level
26314 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26315 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
26316 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26318 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
26319 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
26320 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
26321 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
26324 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
26325 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
26328 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
26329 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
26332 @item gnus-info-group
26333 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
26334 @findex gnus-info-group
26335 @findex gnus-info-set-group
26336 Get/set the group name.
26338 @item gnus-info-rank
26339 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
26340 @findex gnus-info-rank
26341 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
26342 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
26344 @item gnus-info-level
26345 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
26346 @findex gnus-info-level
26347 @findex gnus-info-set-level
26348 Get/set the group level.
26350 @item gnus-info-score
26351 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
26352 @findex gnus-info-score
26353 @findex gnus-info-set-score
26354 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
26356 @item gnus-info-read
26357 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
26358 @findex gnus-info-read
26359 @findex gnus-info-set-read
26360 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
26362 @item gnus-info-marks
26363 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
26364 @findex gnus-info-marks
26365 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
26366 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
26368 @item gnus-info-method
26369 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
26370 @findex gnus-info-method
26371 @findex gnus-info-set-method
26372 Get/set the group select method.
26374 @item gnus-info-params
26375 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
26376 @findex gnus-info-params
26377 @findex gnus-info-set-params
26378 Get/set the group parameters.
26381 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
26382 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
26384 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
26385 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
26386 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
26387 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
26390 @node Extended Interactive
26391 @subsection Extended Interactive
26392 @cindex interactive
26393 @findex gnus-interactive
26395 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
26396 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
26397 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
26400 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
26401 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
26406 The best thing to do would have been to implement
26407 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
26408 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
26409 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
26410 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
26411 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
26412 @code{interactive}.
26414 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
26419 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
26420 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
26424 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
26425 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
26426 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
26429 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
26433 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
26437 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
26443 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
26444 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
26448 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
26449 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
26450 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
26452 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
26453 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
26454 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
26455 Gnus, that's very useful.
26457 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
26458 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
26459 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
26460 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
26461 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
26462 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
26463 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
26464 following function:
26467 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
26471 (,function ,@@args))
26475 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
26476 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
26477 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
26480 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
26481 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
26482 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
26484 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
26485 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
26486 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
26489 @node Various File Formats
26490 @subsection Various File Formats
26493 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
26494 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
26498 @node Active File Format
26499 @subsubsection Active File Format
26501 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
26502 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
26505 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
26508 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
26509 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
26510 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
26511 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
26512 no.general 1000 900 y
26515 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
26518 active = *group-line
26519 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
26520 group = <non-white-space string>
26522 high-number = <non-negative integer>
26523 low-number = <positive integer>
26524 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
26527 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
26528 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
26531 @node Newsgroups File Format
26532 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
26534 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
26535 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
26536 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
26539 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
26540 Here's the definition:
26544 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
26545 group = <non-white-space string>
26547 description = <string>
26552 @node Emacs for Heathens
26553 @section Emacs for Heathens
26555 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
26556 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
26557 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
26558 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
26559 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
26560 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
26561 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
26565 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
26566 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
26571 @subsection Keystrokes
26575 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
26578 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
26581 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
26582 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
26583 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
26584 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
26585 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
26586 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
26588 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
26589 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
26590 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
26591 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
26592 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
26593 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
26594 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
26596 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
26597 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
26598 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
26599 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
26600 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
26601 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
26602 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
26604 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
26605 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
26606 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
26607 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
26608 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
26614 @subsection Emacs Lisp
26616 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
26617 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
26618 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
26619 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
26621 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
26622 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
26623 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
26624 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
26625 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
26626 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
26627 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
26630 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
26631 write the following:
26634 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
26637 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
26638 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
26639 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
26642 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
26643 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
26644 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
26645 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
26646 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
26648 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
26649 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
26650 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
26654 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
26658 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
26661 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
26662 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
26665 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
26668 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
26669 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
26672 @include gnus-faq.texi
26692 @c Local Variables:
26694 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26696 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26697 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26698 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26699 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26700 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref