10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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294 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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303 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
305 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
311 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
331 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
333 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
334 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
336 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
337 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
338 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
339 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
340 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
341 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
342 License'' in the Emacs manual.
344 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
345 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
346 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
348 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
349 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
350 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
351 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
359 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
362 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
363 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
365 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
367 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
368 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
369 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
370 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
371 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
372 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
373 License'' in the Emacs manual.
375 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
376 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
377 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
379 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
380 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
381 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
382 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
391 @top The Gnus Newsreader
395 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
396 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
397 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
400 This manual corresponds to Gnus v5.10.4.
411 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
412 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
414 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
415 being accused of plagiarism:
417 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
418 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
419 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
420 can even read news with it!
422 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
423 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
424 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
425 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
426 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
432 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
433 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
434 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
435 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
436 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
437 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
438 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
439 * Various:: General purpose settings.
440 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
441 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
442 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
443 * Key Index:: Key Index.
445 Other related manuals
447 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
448 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
449 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
450 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
453 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
457 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
458 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
459 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
460 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
461 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
462 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
463 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
464 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
465 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
466 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
467 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
471 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
472 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
473 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
477 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
478 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
479 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
480 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
481 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
482 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
483 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
484 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
485 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
486 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
487 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
488 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
489 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
490 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
491 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
492 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
493 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
497 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
498 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
499 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
503 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
504 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
505 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
506 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
507 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
511 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
512 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
513 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
514 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
515 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
519 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
520 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
521 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
522 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
523 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
524 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
525 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
526 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
527 * Threading:: How threads are made.
528 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
529 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
530 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
531 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
532 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
533 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
534 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
535 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
536 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
537 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
538 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
539 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
540 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
541 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
542 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
543 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
544 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
545 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
546 or reselecting the current group.
547 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
548 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
549 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
550 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
552 Summary Buffer Format
554 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
555 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
556 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
557 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
561 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
562 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
564 Reply, Followup and Post
566 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
567 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
568 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
569 * Canceling and Superseding::
573 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
574 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
575 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
579 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
580 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
581 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
585 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
586 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
588 Customizing Threading
590 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
591 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
592 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
593 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
597 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
598 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
599 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
600 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
601 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
602 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
606 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
607 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
608 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
612 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
613 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
614 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
615 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
616 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
617 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
618 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
619 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
620 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
621 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
622 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
624 Alternative Approaches
626 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
627 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
629 Various Summary Stuff
631 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
632 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
633 * Summary Generation Commands::
634 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
638 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
639 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
640 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
641 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
642 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
646 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
647 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
648 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
649 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
650 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
651 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
652 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
653 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
657 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
658 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
659 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
660 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
661 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
662 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
663 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
664 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
668 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
669 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
670 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
671 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
672 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
673 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
674 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
678 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
679 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
683 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
684 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
685 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
689 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
690 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
691 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
692 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
693 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
694 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
695 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
696 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
697 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
698 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
699 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
700 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
701 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
705 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
706 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
707 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
709 Choosing a Mail Back End
711 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
712 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
713 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
714 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
715 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
716 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
717 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
722 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
723 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
724 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
725 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
726 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
727 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
731 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
732 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
733 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
734 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
735 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
736 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
740 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
741 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
742 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
743 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
744 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
748 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
752 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
753 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
754 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
758 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
759 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
763 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
764 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
765 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
766 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
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 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
858 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
859 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
860 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
861 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
865 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
866 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
867 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
868 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
869 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
870 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
872 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
874 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
875 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
876 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
877 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
878 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
880 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
881 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
883 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
885 * ifile spam filtering::
886 * spam-stat spam filtering::
888 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
890 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
892 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
893 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
894 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
898 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
899 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
900 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
901 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
902 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
903 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
904 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
905 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
906 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
910 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
911 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
912 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
913 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
914 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
915 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
916 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
917 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
918 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
922 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
923 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
924 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
925 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
926 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
927 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
931 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
932 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
933 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
934 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
938 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
939 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
940 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
941 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
942 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
943 * Group Info:: The group info format.
944 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
945 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
946 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
950 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
951 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
952 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
953 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
954 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
955 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
959 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
960 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
964 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
965 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
971 @chapter Starting Gnus
976 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
977 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
980 @findex gnus-other-frame
981 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
982 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
983 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
985 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
986 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
987 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
989 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
990 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
993 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
994 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
995 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
996 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
997 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
998 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
999 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
1000 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
1001 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
1002 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
1003 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1007 @node Finding the News
1008 @section Finding the News
1009 @cindex finding news
1011 @vindex gnus-select-method
1013 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1014 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1015 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1016 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1019 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1020 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1023 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1026 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1029 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1032 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1033 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1034 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1036 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1038 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1039 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1040 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1041 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1042 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1043 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1044 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1046 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1047 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1048 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1049 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1051 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1052 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1053 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1054 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1055 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1056 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1057 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1058 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1059 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1062 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1064 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1065 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1066 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1067 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1068 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1069 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1071 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1073 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1074 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1075 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1076 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1077 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1078 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1081 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1082 you would typically set this variable to
1085 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1089 @node The First Time
1090 @section The First Time
1091 @cindex first time usage
1093 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1094 be subscribed by default.
1096 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1097 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1098 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1099 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1102 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1103 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1104 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1106 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1107 help you with most common problems.
1109 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1110 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1114 @node The Server is Down
1115 @section The Server is Down
1116 @cindex server errors
1118 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1119 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1120 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1122 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1123 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1124 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1125 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1126 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1127 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1128 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1130 @findex gnus-no-server
1131 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1133 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1134 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1135 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1136 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1137 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1138 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1139 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1143 @section Slave Gnusae
1146 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1147 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1148 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1149 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1151 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1152 @file{.newsrc} file.
1154 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1155 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1156 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1157 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1158 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1159 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1160 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1163 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1164 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1165 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1166 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1167 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1168 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1169 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1170 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1172 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1173 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1175 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1176 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1177 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1178 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1179 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1181 @node Fetching a Group
1182 @section Fetching a Group
1183 @cindex fetching a group
1185 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1186 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1187 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1188 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1189 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1190 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1196 @cindex subscription
1198 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1199 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1200 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1201 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1202 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1203 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1204 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1205 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1206 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1209 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1210 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1211 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1215 @node Checking New Groups
1216 @subsection Checking New Groups
1218 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1219 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1220 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1221 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1222 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1223 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1224 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1225 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1226 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1227 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1229 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1230 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1231 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1232 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1233 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1234 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1235 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1236 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1237 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1238 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1239 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1241 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1242 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1243 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1244 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1245 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1246 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1249 @node Subscription Methods
1250 @subsection Subscription Methods
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1253 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1254 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1256 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1257 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1259 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1263 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1264 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1265 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1266 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1267 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1269 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1271 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1272 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1274 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1275 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1276 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1278 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1279 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1280 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1281 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1282 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1283 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1284 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1285 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1286 up. Or something like that.
1288 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1289 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1290 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1291 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1292 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1294 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1295 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1296 Kill all new groups.
1298 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1299 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1300 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1301 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1302 topic parameter that looks like
1308 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1311 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1316 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1317 A closely related variable is
1318 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1319 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1320 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1321 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1324 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1325 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1326 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1327 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1330 @node Filtering New Groups
1331 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1333 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1334 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1335 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1338 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1341 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1342 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1343 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1344 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1345 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1346 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1347 subscribing these groups.
1348 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1349 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1351 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1352 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1353 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1354 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1355 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1356 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1357 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1358 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1360 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1361 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1362 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1363 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1364 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1365 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1366 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1367 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1368 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1369 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1372 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1373 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1376 @node Changing Servers
1377 @section Changing Servers
1378 @cindex changing servers
1380 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1381 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1382 very flaky and you want to use another.
1384 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1385 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1389 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1390 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1391 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1392 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1395 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1396 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1397 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1398 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1400 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1401 @findex gnus-change-server
1402 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1403 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1404 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1405 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1406 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1408 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1409 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1410 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1411 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1412 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1414 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1415 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1416 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1417 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1418 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1419 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1421 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1422 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1423 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1424 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1426 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1427 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1428 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1429 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1430 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1431 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1432 cache for all groups).
1436 @section Startup Files
1437 @cindex startup files
1442 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1443 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1445 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1446 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1447 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1448 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1449 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1450 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1451 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1453 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1454 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1455 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1456 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1457 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1458 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1460 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1461 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1462 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1463 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1464 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1465 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1466 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1467 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1468 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1469 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1471 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1472 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1473 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1474 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1475 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1476 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1477 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1478 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1479 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1480 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1481 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1482 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1484 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1485 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1486 @vindex version-control
1487 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1488 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1489 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1490 If you want version control for this file, set
1491 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1492 @code{version-control} variable.
1494 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1495 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1496 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1497 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1498 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1499 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1500 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1501 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1502 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1503 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1506 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1507 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1509 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1510 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1513 @vindex gnus-init-file
1514 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1515 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1516 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1517 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1518 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1519 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1520 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1521 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1522 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1523 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1529 @cindex dribble file
1532 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1533 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1534 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1535 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1536 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1539 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1540 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1543 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1544 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1545 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1547 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1548 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1549 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1550 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1551 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1552 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1554 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1555 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1556 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1559 @node The Active File
1560 @section The Active File
1562 @cindex ignored groups
1564 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1565 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1566 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1568 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1569 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1570 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1571 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1572 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1573 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1574 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1577 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1578 @c if you set it to anything else.
1580 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1582 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1583 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1584 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1586 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1587 you actually subscribe to.
1589 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1590 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1591 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1592 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1594 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1595 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1596 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1597 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1598 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1599 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1601 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1602 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1603 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1606 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1607 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1608 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1609 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1610 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1611 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1613 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1614 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1616 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1617 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1619 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1620 secondary select methods.
1623 @node Startup Variables
1624 @section Startup Variables
1628 @item gnus-load-hook
1629 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1630 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1631 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1632 times you start Gnus.
1634 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1635 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1636 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1638 @item gnus-startup-hook
1639 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1640 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1642 @item gnus-started-hook
1643 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1644 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1647 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1648 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1649 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1650 generating the group buffer.
1652 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1653 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1654 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1655 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1656 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1657 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1658 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1659 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1661 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1662 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1663 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1664 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1665 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1666 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1668 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1669 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1670 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1672 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1673 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1674 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1676 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1677 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1678 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1679 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1685 @chapter Group Buffer
1686 @cindex group buffer
1688 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1690 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1691 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1692 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1693 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1694 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1695 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1696 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1697 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1698 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1699 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1700 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1701 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1702 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1703 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1704 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1705 @c human rights at 9...
1708 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1709 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1710 long as Gnus is active.
1714 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1715 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1716 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1717 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1718 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1719 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1720 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1721 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1727 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1728 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1729 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1730 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1731 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1732 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1733 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1734 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1735 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1736 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1737 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1738 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1739 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1740 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1741 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1742 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1743 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1747 @node Group Buffer Format
1748 @section Group Buffer Format
1751 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1752 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1753 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1757 @node Group Line Specification
1758 @subsection Group Line Specification
1759 @cindex group buffer format
1761 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1762 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1764 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1767 25: news.announce.newusers
1768 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1773 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1774 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1775 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1776 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1778 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1779 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1780 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1781 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1782 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1783 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1785 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1787 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1788 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1789 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1790 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1791 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1793 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1794 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1795 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1797 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1802 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1805 Whether the group is subscribed.
1808 Level of subscribedness.
1811 Number of unread articles.
1814 Number of dormant articles.
1817 Number of ticked articles.
1820 Number of read articles.
1823 Number of unseen articles.
1826 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1827 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1829 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1830 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1831 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1832 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1833 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1834 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1835 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1836 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1839 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1842 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1851 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1852 comment element in the group parameters.
1855 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1856 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1857 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1861 @samp{m} if moderated.
1864 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1870 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1876 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1880 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1883 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1884 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1885 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1886 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1887 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1890 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1892 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1896 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1899 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1903 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1904 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1905 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1906 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1907 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1908 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1913 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1914 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1915 group, or a bogus native group.
1918 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1919 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1920 @cindex group mode line
1922 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1923 The mode line can be changed by setting
1924 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1925 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1929 The native news server.
1931 The native select method.
1935 @node Group Highlighting
1936 @subsection Group Highlighting
1937 @cindex highlighting
1938 @cindex group highlighting
1940 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1941 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1942 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1943 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1944 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1946 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1950 (cond (window-system
1951 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1952 (defface my-group-face-1
1953 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1954 (defface my-group-face-2
1955 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1956 "Second group face")
1957 (defface my-group-face-3
1958 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1959 (defface my-group-face-4
1960 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1961 (defface my-group-face-5
1962 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1964 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1965 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1966 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1967 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1968 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1969 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1972 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1974 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1981 The number of unread articles in the group.
1985 Whether the group is a mail group.
1987 The level of the group.
1989 The score of the group.
1991 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1993 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1994 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1996 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1997 topic being inserted.
2000 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2001 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
2002 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2004 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2005 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2006 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2007 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2008 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2011 @node Group Maneuvering
2012 @section Group Maneuvering
2013 @cindex group movement
2015 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2016 expected, hopefully.
2022 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2023 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2024 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2030 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2031 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2032 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2036 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2037 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2042 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2047 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2048 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2052 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2053 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2054 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2057 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2063 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2064 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2065 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2070 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2071 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2072 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2076 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2077 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2078 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2081 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2082 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2083 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2084 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2088 @node Selecting a Group
2089 @section Selecting a Group
2090 @cindex group selection
2095 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2096 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2097 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2098 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2099 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2100 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2101 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2102 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2103 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2104 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2106 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2107 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2108 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2110 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2111 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2116 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2117 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2118 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2119 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2120 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2124 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2125 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2126 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2127 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2128 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2129 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2130 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2131 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2132 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2133 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2136 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2137 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2138 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2139 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2140 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2143 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2144 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2145 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2146 doing any processing of its contents
2147 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2148 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2149 manner will have no permanent effects.
2153 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2154 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2155 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2156 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2157 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2158 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2159 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2160 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2161 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2162 most recently will be fetched.
2164 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2165 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2166 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2169 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2170 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2171 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2172 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2173 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2174 Which article this is is controlled by the
2175 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2181 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2184 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2187 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2189 @item unseen-or-unread
2190 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2191 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2195 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2199 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2200 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2202 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2203 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2204 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2205 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2209 @node Subscription Commands
2210 @section Subscription Commands
2211 @cindex subscription
2219 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2220 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2221 Toggle subscription to the current group
2222 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2228 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2229 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2230 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2231 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2238 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2239 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2245 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2246 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2249 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2250 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2251 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2252 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2253 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2259 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2260 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2264 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2265 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2268 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2269 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2270 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2271 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2272 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2273 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2274 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2275 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2276 @file{.newsrc} file.
2280 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2290 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2291 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2292 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2293 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2294 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2295 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2300 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2301 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2302 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2306 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2307 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2308 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2310 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2311 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2312 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2313 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2314 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2315 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2322 @section Group Levels
2326 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2327 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2328 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2329 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2330 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2332 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2338 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2339 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2340 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2341 prompted for a level.
2344 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2345 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2346 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2347 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2348 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2349 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2350 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2351 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2352 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2353 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2354 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2355 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2356 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2357 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2358 reasons of efficiency.
2360 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2361 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2363 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2364 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2365 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2366 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2367 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2368 groups are hidden, in a way.
2370 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2371 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2372 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2373 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2374 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2375 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2377 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2378 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2379 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2380 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2381 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2382 list of killed groups.)
2384 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2385 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2386 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2388 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2389 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2390 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2391 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2392 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2393 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2394 relevant valid ranges.
2396 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2397 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2398 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2399 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2400 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2401 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2404 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2405 one with the best level.
2407 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2408 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2409 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2412 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2413 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2414 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2415 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2418 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2419 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2420 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2421 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2423 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2424 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2425 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2426 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2427 to 5. The default is 6.
2431 @section Group Score
2436 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2437 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2438 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2441 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2442 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2443 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2444 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2445 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2446 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2447 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2448 least significant part.))
2450 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2451 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2452 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2453 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2454 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2455 action after each summary exit, you can add
2456 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2457 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2458 slow things down somewhat.
2461 @node Marking Groups
2462 @section Marking Groups
2463 @cindex marking groups
2465 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2466 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2467 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2468 bidding on those groups.
2470 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2471 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2472 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2480 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2481 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2487 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2488 Remove the mark from the current group
2489 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2494 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2499 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2504 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2508 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2509 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2510 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2513 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2515 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2516 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2517 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2518 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2519 the command to be executed.
2522 @node Foreign Groups
2523 @section Foreign Groups
2524 @cindex foreign groups
2526 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2527 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2528 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2529 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2536 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2537 @cindex making groups
2538 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2539 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2540 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2544 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2545 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2546 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2550 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2551 @cindex renaming groups
2552 Rename the current group to something else
2553 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2554 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2560 @findex gnus-group-customize
2561 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2565 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2566 @cindex renaming groups
2567 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2568 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2572 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2573 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2574 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2578 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2579 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2580 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2584 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2586 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2587 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2592 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2593 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2597 @cindex (ding) archive
2598 @cindex archive group
2599 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2600 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2601 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2602 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2603 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2604 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2605 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2609 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2611 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2612 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2613 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2614 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2618 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2620 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2621 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2622 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2626 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2627 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2629 Make a group based on some file or other
2630 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2631 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2632 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2633 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2634 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2635 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2636 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2637 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2638 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2642 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2643 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2644 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2645 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2649 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2653 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2654 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2655 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2656 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2657 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2658 @xref{Web Searches}.
2660 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2661 to a particular group by using a match string like
2662 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2666 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2667 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2668 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2672 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2673 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2674 This function will delete the current group
2675 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2676 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2677 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2678 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2679 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2683 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2684 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2685 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2689 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2690 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2691 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2694 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2697 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2698 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2699 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2700 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2701 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2702 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2706 @node Group Parameters
2707 @section Group Parameters
2708 @cindex group parameters
2710 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2711 Here's an example group parameter list:
2714 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2718 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2719 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2720 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2721 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2723 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2724 is an alist of regexps and values.
2726 The following group parameters can be used:
2731 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2734 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2737 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2738 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2739 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2740 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2741 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2743 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2744 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2745 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2746 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2747 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2748 list address instead.
2750 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2754 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2757 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2760 It is totally ignored
2761 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2762 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2764 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2765 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2766 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2767 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2768 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2770 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2771 @cindex mail list groups
2772 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2773 entering summary buffer.
2775 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2780 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2781 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2782 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2783 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2784 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2785 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2786 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2787 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2790 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2791 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2794 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2795 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2799 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2800 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2801 of whether it has any unread articles.
2803 @item broken-reply-to
2804 @cindex broken-reply-to
2805 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2806 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2807 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2808 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2809 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2810 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2814 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2815 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2819 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2820 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2821 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2826 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2827 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2828 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2829 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2830 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2831 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2832 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2834 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2835 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2836 doesn't accept articles.
2840 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2841 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2842 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2844 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2847 @cindex total-expire
2848 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2849 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2850 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2851 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2854 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2858 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2859 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2860 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2861 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2862 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2863 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2864 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2867 @cindex expiry-target
2868 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2869 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2872 @cindex score file group parameter
2873 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2874 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2875 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2878 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2879 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2880 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2881 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2884 @cindex admin-address
2885 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2886 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2887 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2888 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2892 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2893 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2897 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2900 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2901 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2904 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2908 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2910 Here are some examples:
2914 Display only unread articles.
2917 Display everything except expirable articles.
2919 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2920 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2924 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2925 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2926 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2927 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2928 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2932 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2933 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2934 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2938 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2939 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2940 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2944 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2945 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2946 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2948 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2950 @item ignored-charsets
2951 @cindex ignored-charset
2952 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2953 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2954 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2956 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2959 @cindex posting-style
2960 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2961 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2962 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2963 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2964 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2966 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2967 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2968 like this in the group parameters:
2973 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2974 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2979 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2980 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2984 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2985 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2986 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2987 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2988 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2992 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2993 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2994 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2995 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2997 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
2998 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2999 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3000 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3003 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
3004 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
3008 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3009 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3011 @item (agent parameters)
3012 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3013 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3014 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3015 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3016 minimize the configuration effort.
3018 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3019 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3020 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3021 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3022 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3023 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3024 @code{eval}ed there.
3026 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3027 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3028 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3029 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3030 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3031 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3032 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3033 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3036 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3039 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3040 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3041 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3044 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3047 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3048 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3049 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3050 into the group parameters for the group.
3052 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
3053 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
3054 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
3055 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
3056 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
3060 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3061 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3062 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3063 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3064 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3066 @vindex gnus-parameters
3067 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3068 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3072 (setq gnus-parameters
3074 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3075 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3076 (gnus-summary-line-format
3077 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3081 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3085 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3089 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3092 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3093 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3096 @node Listing Groups
3097 @section Listing Groups
3098 @cindex group listing
3100 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3108 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3109 List all groups that have unread articles
3110 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3111 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3112 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3113 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3120 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3121 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3122 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3123 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3124 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3125 unsubscribed groups).
3129 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3130 List all unread groups on a specific level
3131 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3132 with no unread articles.
3136 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3137 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3138 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3139 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3144 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3145 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3149 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3150 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3151 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3155 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3156 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3160 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3161 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3162 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3163 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3164 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3165 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3166 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3167 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3171 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3172 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3173 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3177 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3178 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3179 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3183 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3184 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3188 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3189 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3193 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3194 List groups limited within the current selection
3195 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3199 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3200 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3204 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3205 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3209 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3210 @cindex visible group parameter
3211 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3212 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3213 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3214 get the same effect.
3216 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3217 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3218 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3219 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3220 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3223 @node Sorting Groups
3224 @section Sorting Groups
3225 @cindex sorting groups
3227 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3228 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3229 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3230 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3231 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3232 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3237 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3238 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3239 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3241 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3243 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3245 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3246 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3247 Sort by group level.
3249 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3250 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3251 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3253 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3254 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3255 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3256 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3258 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3259 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3260 Sort by number of unread articles.
3262 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3263 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3264 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3266 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3267 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3268 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3273 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3274 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3278 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3279 some sorting criteria:
3283 @kindex G S a (Group)
3284 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3285 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3286 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3289 @kindex G S u (Group)
3290 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3291 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3292 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3295 @kindex G S l (Group)
3296 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3297 Sort the group buffer by group level
3298 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3301 @kindex G S v (Group)
3302 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3303 Sort the group buffer by group score
3304 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3307 @kindex G S r (Group)
3308 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3309 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3310 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3313 @kindex G S m (Group)
3314 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3315 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3316 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3319 @kindex G S n (Group)
3320 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3321 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3322 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3326 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3327 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3329 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3330 commands will sort in reverse order.
3332 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3336 @kindex G P a (Group)
3337 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3338 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3339 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3342 @kindex G P u (Group)
3343 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3344 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3345 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3348 @kindex G P l (Group)
3349 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3350 Sort the groups by group level
3351 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3354 @kindex G P v (Group)
3355 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3356 Sort the groups by group score
3357 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3360 @kindex G P r (Group)
3361 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3362 Sort the groups by group rank
3363 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3366 @kindex G P m (Group)
3367 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3368 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3369 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3372 @kindex G P n (Group)
3373 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3374 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3375 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3378 @kindex G P s (Group)
3379 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3380 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3384 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3388 @node Group Maintenance
3389 @section Group Maintenance
3390 @cindex bogus groups
3395 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3396 Find bogus groups and delete them
3397 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3401 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3402 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3403 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3404 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3405 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3409 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3410 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3411 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3412 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3413 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3414 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3417 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3418 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3419 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3420 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3425 @node Browse Foreign Server
3426 @section Browse Foreign Server
3427 @cindex foreign servers
3428 @cindex browsing servers
3433 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3434 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3435 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3436 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3439 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3440 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3441 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3442 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3444 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3449 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3450 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3454 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3455 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3458 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3459 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3460 Enter the current group and display the first article
3461 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3464 @kindex RET (Browse)
3465 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3466 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3470 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3471 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3472 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3478 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3479 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3483 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3484 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3488 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3489 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3490 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3495 @section Exiting Gnus
3496 @cindex exiting Gnus
3498 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3503 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3504 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3505 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3506 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3510 @findex gnus-group-exit
3511 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3512 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3516 @findex gnus-group-quit
3517 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3518 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3521 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3522 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3523 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3524 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3525 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3526 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3532 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3533 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3534 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3540 @section Group Topics
3543 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3544 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3545 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3546 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3547 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3548 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3552 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3553 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3564 2: alt.religion.emacs
3567 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3569 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3570 13: comp.sources.unix
3573 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3575 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3576 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3577 is a toggling command.)
3579 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3580 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3581 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3582 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3585 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3586 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3587 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3590 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3594 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3595 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3596 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3597 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3598 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3602 @node Topic Commands
3603 @subsection Topic Commands
3604 @cindex topic commands
3606 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3607 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3608 definitions slightly.
3610 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3611 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3612 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3613 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3614 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3615 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3617 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3624 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3625 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3626 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3630 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3632 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3633 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3634 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3635 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3638 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3639 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3640 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3641 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3645 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3646 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3647 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3648 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3654 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3655 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3656 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3660 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3661 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3662 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3665 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3666 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3667 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3668 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3669 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3671 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3672 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3676 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3677 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3684 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3686 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3687 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3688 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3689 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3690 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3691 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3695 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3701 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3702 Move the current group to some other topic
3703 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3704 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3708 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3709 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3713 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3714 Copy the current group to some other topic
3715 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3716 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3720 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3721 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3722 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3726 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3727 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3728 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3732 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3733 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3734 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3735 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3736 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3737 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3738 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3741 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3742 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3746 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3747 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3748 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3752 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3753 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3754 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3758 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3759 Toggle hiding empty topics
3760 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3764 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3765 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3766 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3767 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3770 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3771 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3772 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3773 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3774 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3777 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3778 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3779 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3780 expiry process (if any)
3781 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3785 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3786 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3789 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3790 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3791 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3795 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3796 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3797 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3800 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3801 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3802 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3805 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3806 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3807 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3811 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3812 @cindex group parameters
3813 @cindex topic parameters
3815 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3816 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3821 @node Topic Variables
3822 @subsection Topic Variables
3823 @cindex topic variables
3825 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3826 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3828 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3829 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3830 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3843 Number of groups in the topic.
3845 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3847 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3850 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3851 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3852 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3855 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3856 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3858 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3859 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3860 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3864 @subsection Topic Sorting
3865 @cindex topic sorting
3867 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3873 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3874 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3875 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3876 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3879 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3880 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3881 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3882 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3885 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3886 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3887 Sort the current topic by group level
3888 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3891 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3892 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3893 Sort the current topic by group score
3894 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3897 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3898 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3899 Sort the current topic by group rank
3900 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3903 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3904 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3905 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3906 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3909 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3910 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3911 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3912 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3915 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3916 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3917 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3918 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3919 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3923 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3924 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3928 @node Topic Topology
3929 @subsection Topic Topology
3930 @cindex topic topology
3933 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3940 2: alt.religion.emacs
3943 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3945 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3946 13: comp.sources.unix
3950 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3951 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3952 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3957 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3958 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3962 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3963 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3964 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3965 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3966 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3967 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3969 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3970 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3971 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3974 @node Topic Parameters
3975 @subsection Topic Parameters
3976 @cindex topic parameters
3978 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
3979 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
3980 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
3981 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
3982 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
3984 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3989 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3990 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3991 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3994 @item subscribe-level
3995 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3996 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3997 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4001 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4002 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4003 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4004 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4011 2: alt.religion.emacs
4015 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4017 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4018 13: comp.sources.unix
4023 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4024 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4025 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4026 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4027 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4028 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4030 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4031 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4032 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4033 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4034 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4036 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4037 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4038 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4039 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4040 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4041 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4042 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4043 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4046 @node Misc Group Stuff
4047 @section Misc Group Stuff
4050 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4051 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4052 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4053 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4054 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4061 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4062 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4063 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4067 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4068 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4069 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4070 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4071 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4072 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4073 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4077 @findex gnus-group-mail
4078 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4079 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4080 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4081 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4085 @findex gnus-group-news
4086 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4087 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4088 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4090 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4091 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4092 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4093 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4094 for this to work though.
4098 Variables for the group buffer:
4102 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4103 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4104 is called after the group buffer has been
4107 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4108 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4109 is called after the group buffer is
4110 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4113 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4114 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4115 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4116 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4118 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4119 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4120 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4121 whether they are empty or not.
4123 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4124 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4125 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4126 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4130 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4131 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4134 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4135 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4136 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4137 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4138 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4139 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4140 default is @code{nil}.
4144 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4145 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4150 @node Scanning New Messages
4151 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4152 @cindex new messages
4153 @cindex scanning new news
4159 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4160 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4161 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4162 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4163 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4164 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4169 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4170 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4171 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4172 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4173 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4174 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4175 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4177 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4178 @cindex activating groups
4180 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4181 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4186 @findex gnus-group-restart
4187 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4188 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4189 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4193 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4194 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4196 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4197 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4201 @node Group Information
4202 @subsection Group Information
4203 @cindex group information
4204 @cindex information on groups
4211 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4212 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4215 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4216 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4217 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4218 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4219 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4220 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4221 used for fetching the file.
4223 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4224 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4228 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4229 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4231 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4232 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4235 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4236 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4237 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4241 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4242 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4243 @cindex control message
4244 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4245 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4246 group if given a prefix argument.
4248 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4249 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4250 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4251 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4253 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4254 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4255 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4259 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4261 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4262 @cindex describing groups
4263 @cindex group description
4264 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4265 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4266 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4270 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4271 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4272 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4279 @findex gnus-version
4280 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4284 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4285 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4288 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4291 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4292 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4296 @node Group Timestamp
4297 @subsection Group Timestamp
4299 @cindex group timestamps
4301 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4302 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4303 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4306 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4309 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4311 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4312 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4315 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4316 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4319 This will result in lines looking like:
4322 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4323 0: custom 19961002T012713
4326 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4327 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4331 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4332 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4335 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4336 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4340 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4341 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4342 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4343 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4345 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4351 @subsection File Commands
4352 @cindex file commands
4358 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4359 @vindex gnus-init-file
4360 @cindex reading init file
4361 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4362 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4366 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4367 @cindex saving .newsrc
4368 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4369 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4370 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4373 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4374 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4375 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4380 @node Sieve Commands
4381 @subsection Sieve Commands
4382 @cindex group sieve commands
4384 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4385 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4386 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4387 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4388 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4390 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4391 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4392 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4393 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4394 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4395 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4396 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4397 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4398 regenerate the Sieve script.
4400 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4401 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4402 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4403 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4404 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4405 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4406 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4407 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4408 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4409 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4412 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4413 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4418 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4424 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4425 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4426 @cindex generating sieve script
4427 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4428 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4432 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4433 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4434 @cindex updating sieve script
4435 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4436 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4437 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4442 @node Summary Buffer
4443 @chapter Summary Buffer
4444 @cindex summary buffer
4446 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4447 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4449 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4450 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4452 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4455 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4456 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4457 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4458 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4459 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4460 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4461 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4462 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4463 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4464 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4465 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4466 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4467 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4468 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4469 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4470 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4471 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4472 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4473 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4474 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4475 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4476 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4477 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4478 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4479 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4480 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4481 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4482 or reselecting the current group.
4483 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4484 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4485 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4486 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4490 @node Summary Buffer Format
4491 @section Summary Buffer Format
4492 @cindex summary buffer format
4496 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4497 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4498 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4504 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4505 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4506 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4507 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4510 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4511 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4512 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4513 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4514 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4515 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4516 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4517 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4518 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4519 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4520 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4523 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4524 'mail-extract-address-components)
4527 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4528 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4529 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4530 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4533 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4534 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4536 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4537 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4538 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4539 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4540 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4542 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4543 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4544 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4545 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4546 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4547 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4549 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4551 The following format specification characters and extended format
4552 specification(s) are understood:
4558 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4559 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4561 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4562 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4563 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4565 Full @code{From} header.
4567 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4569 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4572 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4573 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4574 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4575 may be more thorough.
4577 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4580 Number of lines in the article.
4582 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4583 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4585 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4586 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4588 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4590 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4591 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4604 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4605 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4606 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4607 line-drawing glyphs.
4609 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4610 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4611 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4612 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4614 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4615 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4616 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4617 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4619 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4620 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4621 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4622 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4624 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4625 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4626 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4628 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4629 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4630 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4632 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4633 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4634 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4636 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4637 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4638 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4643 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4644 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4646 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4647 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4649 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4650 for adopted articles.
4652 One space for each thread level.
4654 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4656 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4659 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4660 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4661 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4664 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4666 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4667 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4668 default level. If the difference between
4669 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4670 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4678 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4680 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4686 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4687 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4689 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4690 article has any children.
4696 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4697 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4699 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4700 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4701 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4702 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4703 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4704 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4707 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4708 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4709 There can only be one such area.
4711 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4712 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4713 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4714 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4715 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4716 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4718 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4719 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4721 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4724 @node To From Newsgroups
4725 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4729 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4730 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4731 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4732 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4733 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4737 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4738 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4739 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4743 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4744 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4747 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4748 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4751 @findex gnus-extra-header
4752 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4753 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4754 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4757 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4761 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4762 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4763 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4764 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4765 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4766 headers are used instead.
4770 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4771 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4772 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4773 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4774 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4775 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4778 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4779 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4780 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4781 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4783 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4787 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4789 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4790 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4791 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4792 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4796 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4799 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4800 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4803 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4804 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4805 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4811 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4812 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4815 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4816 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4818 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4819 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4820 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4821 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4823 Here are the elements you can play with:
4829 Unprefixed group name.
4831 Current article number.
4833 Current article score.
4837 Number of unread articles in this group.
4839 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4842 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4843 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4844 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4845 and no unselected ones.
4847 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4848 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4850 Subject of the current article.
4852 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4854 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4856 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4858 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4860 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4862 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4866 @node Summary Highlighting
4867 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4871 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4872 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4873 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4874 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4875 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4877 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4878 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4879 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4880 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4882 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4883 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4884 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4885 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4887 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4888 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4889 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4890 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4891 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4892 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4895 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4896 ((> score default) . bold))
4898 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4899 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4903 @node Summary Maneuvering
4904 @section Summary Maneuvering
4905 @cindex summary movement
4907 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4908 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4910 None of these commands select articles.
4915 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4916 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4917 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4918 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4919 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4923 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4924 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4925 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4926 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4927 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4930 @kindex G g (Summary)
4931 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4932 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4933 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4936 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4937 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4938 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4939 to the group buffer.
4941 Variables related to summary movement:
4945 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4946 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4947 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4948 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4949 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4950 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4951 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4952 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4953 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4954 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4955 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4956 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4957 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4958 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4960 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4961 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4962 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4963 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4964 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4965 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4966 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4968 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4970 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4971 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4972 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4973 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4974 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4976 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4977 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4978 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4979 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4980 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4981 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4982 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4983 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4986 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4987 the given number of lines from the top.
4992 @node Choosing Articles
4993 @section Choosing Articles
4994 @cindex selecting articles
4997 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4998 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5002 @node Choosing Commands
5003 @subsection Choosing Commands
5005 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5006 and they all select and display an article.
5008 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5009 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5013 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5014 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5015 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5016 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5018 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5019 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5020 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5025 @kindex G n (Summary)
5026 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5027 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5028 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5033 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5034 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5035 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5040 @kindex G N (Summary)
5041 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5042 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5047 @kindex G P (Summary)
5048 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5049 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5052 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5053 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5054 Go to the next article with the same subject
5055 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5058 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5059 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5060 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5061 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5065 @kindex G f (Summary)
5067 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5068 Go to the first unread article
5069 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5073 @kindex G b (Summary)
5075 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5076 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5077 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5078 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5083 @kindex G l (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5085 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5088 @kindex G o (Summary)
5089 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5091 @cindex article history
5092 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5093 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5094 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5095 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5096 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5097 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5102 @kindex G j (Summary)
5103 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5104 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5105 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5110 @node Choosing Variables
5111 @subsection Choosing Variables
5113 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5116 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5117 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5118 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5119 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5120 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5121 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5123 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5124 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5125 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5126 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5127 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5128 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5130 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5131 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5132 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5133 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5134 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5135 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5136 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5137 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5138 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5139 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5140 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5141 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5142 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5143 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5148 @node Paging the Article
5149 @section Scrolling the Article
5150 @cindex article scrolling
5155 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5157 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5158 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5159 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5161 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5162 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5163 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5164 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5165 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5166 what is considered uninteresting with
5167 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5168 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5171 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5172 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5173 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5176 @kindex RET (Summary)
5177 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5178 Scroll the current article one line forward
5179 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5182 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5183 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5184 Scroll the current article one line backward
5185 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5189 @kindex A g (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5192 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5193 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5194 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5195 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5196 the way it came from the server.
5198 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5199 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5200 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5203 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5208 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5213 @kindex A < (Summary)
5214 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5215 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5216 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5221 @kindex A > (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5223 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5227 @kindex A s (Summary)
5229 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5230 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5231 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5235 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5236 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5241 @node Reply Followup and Post
5242 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5245 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5246 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5247 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5248 * Canceling and Superseding::
5252 @node Summary Mail Commands
5253 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5255 @cindex composing mail
5257 Commands for composing a mail message:
5263 @kindex S r (Summary)
5265 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5266 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5267 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5268 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5269 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5274 @kindex S R (Summary)
5275 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5276 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5277 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5278 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5279 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5282 @kindex S w (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5284 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5285 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5286 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5287 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5288 present, that's used instead.
5291 @kindex S W (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5293 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5294 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5295 the process/prefix convention.
5298 @kindex S v (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5300 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5301 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5302 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5303 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5304 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5307 @kindex S V (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5309 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5310 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5311 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5314 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5315 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5316 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5317 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5318 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5319 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5320 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5321 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5324 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5325 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5326 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5327 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5328 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5332 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5333 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5334 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5335 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5336 Forward the current article to some other person
5337 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5338 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5339 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5340 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5341 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5342 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5343 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5344 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5345 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5351 @kindex S m (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5353 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5354 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5355 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5356 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5361 @kindex S i (Summary)
5362 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5363 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5364 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5365 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5367 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5368 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5369 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5370 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5371 for this to work though.
5374 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5375 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5376 @cindex bouncing mail
5377 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5378 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5379 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5380 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5381 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5382 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5383 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5384 very well fail, though.
5387 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5388 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5389 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5390 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5391 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5392 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5393 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5394 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5395 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5396 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5398 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5399 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5400 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5401 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5402 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5404 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5405 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5408 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5409 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5410 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5411 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5412 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5415 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5416 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5417 @cindex crossposting
5418 @cindex excessive crossposting
5419 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5420 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5422 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5423 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5424 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5425 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5426 command understands the process/prefix convention
5427 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5431 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5432 Manual}, for more information.
5435 @node Summary Post Commands
5436 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5438 @cindex composing news
5440 Commands for posting a news article:
5446 @kindex S p (Summary)
5447 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5448 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5449 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5450 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5451 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5456 @kindex S f (Summary)
5457 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5458 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5459 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5463 @kindex S F (Summary)
5465 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5466 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5467 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5468 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5469 process/prefix convention.
5472 @kindex S n (Summary)
5473 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5474 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5475 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5478 @kindex S N (Summary)
5479 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5480 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5481 message through mail and include the original message
5482 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5483 the process/prefix convention.
5486 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5487 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5488 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5489 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5490 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5491 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5492 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5493 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5494 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5495 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5496 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5497 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5498 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5501 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5502 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5504 @cindex making digests
5505 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5506 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5507 process/prefix convention.
5510 @kindex S u (Summary)
5511 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5512 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5513 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5514 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5517 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5518 Manual}, for more information.
5521 @node Summary Message Commands
5522 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5526 @kindex S y (Summary)
5527 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5528 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5529 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5530 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5531 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5536 @node Canceling and Superseding
5537 @subsection Canceling Articles
5538 @cindex canceling articles
5539 @cindex superseding articles
5541 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5542 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5544 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5546 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5548 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5549 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5550 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5551 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5552 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5553 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5555 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5556 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5559 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5560 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5561 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5563 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5564 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5565 message, Message Manual}).
5567 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5568 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5569 your original article.
5571 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5573 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5574 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5575 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5578 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5579 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5580 have posted almost the same article twice.
5582 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5583 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5584 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5585 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5586 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5587 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5588 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5589 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5590 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5591 canceled/superseded.
5593 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5595 @node Delayed Articles
5596 @section Delayed Articles
5597 @cindex delayed sending
5598 @cindex send delayed
5600 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5601 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5602 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5603 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5606 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5609 @findex gnus-delay-article
5610 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5611 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5612 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5613 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5617 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5618 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5619 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5620 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5623 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5624 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5625 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5628 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5629 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5630 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5631 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5632 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5633 that means a time tomorrow.
5636 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5637 couple of variables:
5640 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5641 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5642 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5643 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5645 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5646 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5647 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5648 formats described above.
5650 @item gnus-delay-group
5651 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5652 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5653 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5654 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5656 @item gnus-delay-header
5657 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5658 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5659 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5660 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5663 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5664 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5665 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5666 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5667 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5669 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5670 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5671 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5672 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5673 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5674 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5675 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5678 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5679 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5680 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5681 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5682 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5683 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5684 argument is ignored.
5686 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5687 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5688 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5692 @node Marking Articles
5693 @section Marking Articles
5694 @cindex article marking
5695 @cindex article ticking
5698 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5700 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5701 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5702 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5704 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5707 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5708 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5709 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5713 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5717 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5718 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5719 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5723 @node Unread Articles
5724 @subsection Unread Articles
5726 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5731 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5732 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5734 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5735 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5736 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5737 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5738 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5739 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5740 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5743 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5744 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5746 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5747 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5748 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5749 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5753 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5754 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5756 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5761 @subsection Read Articles
5762 @cindex expirable mark
5764 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5769 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5770 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5771 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5774 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5775 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5778 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5779 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5780 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5783 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5784 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5787 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5788 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5791 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5792 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5795 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5796 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5799 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5800 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5803 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5804 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5807 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5808 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5812 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5813 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5814 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5818 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5819 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5821 One more special mark, though:
5825 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5826 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5828 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5829 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5830 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5831 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5837 @subsection Other Marks
5838 @cindex process mark
5841 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5847 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5848 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5849 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5850 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5851 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5854 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5855 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5856 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5857 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5860 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5861 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5862 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5865 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5866 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5867 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5870 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5871 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5872 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5873 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5876 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5877 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5878 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5879 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5880 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5881 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5884 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5885 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5886 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5887 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5890 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5891 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5892 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5893 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5894 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5898 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5899 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5900 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5901 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5902 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5903 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5906 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5907 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5908 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5909 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5910 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5911 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5915 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5916 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5917 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5918 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5919 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5922 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5923 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5924 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5925 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5926 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5927 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5931 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5932 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5933 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5935 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5936 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5937 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5941 @subsection Setting Marks
5942 @cindex setting marks
5944 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5949 @kindex M c (Summary)
5950 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5951 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5952 @cindex mark as unread
5953 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5954 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5960 @kindex M t (Summary)
5961 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5962 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5963 @xref{Article Caching}.
5968 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5970 Mark the current article as dormant
5971 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5975 @kindex M d (Summary)
5977 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5978 Mark the current article as read
5979 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5983 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5984 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5985 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5990 @kindex M k (Summary)
5991 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5992 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5993 and then select the next unread article
5994 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5998 @kindex M K (Summary)
5999 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6000 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6001 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6002 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6005 @kindex M C (Summary)
6006 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6007 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6008 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6011 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6012 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6013 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6014 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6017 @kindex M H (Summary)
6018 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6019 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6020 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6023 @kindex M h (Summary)
6024 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6025 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6026 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6029 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6031 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6032 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6035 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6036 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6037 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6038 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6042 @kindex M e (Summary)
6044 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6045 Mark the current article as expirable
6046 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6049 @kindex M b (Summary)
6050 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6051 Set a bookmark in the current article
6052 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6055 @kindex M B (Summary)
6056 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6057 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6058 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6061 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6062 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6063 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6064 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6067 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6068 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6069 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6070 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6073 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6075 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6076 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6077 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6080 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6081 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6082 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6083 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6084 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6085 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6086 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6087 The default is @code{t}.
6090 @node Generic Marking Commands
6091 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6093 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6094 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6095 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6096 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6097 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6100 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6101 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6104 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6105 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6106 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6107 to list in this manual.
6109 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6110 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6111 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6112 article, you could say something like:
6116 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6117 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6118 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6126 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6127 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6131 @node Setting Process Marks
6132 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6133 @cindex setting process marks
6135 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6136 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6137 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6138 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6139 commands into the cache. For more information,
6140 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6147 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6149 Mark the current article with the process mark
6150 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6151 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6155 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6156 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6157 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6158 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6161 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6162 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6163 Remove the process mark from all articles
6164 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6167 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6168 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6169 Invert the list of process marked articles
6170 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6173 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6174 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6175 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6176 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6179 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6180 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6181 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6182 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6185 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6186 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6187 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6190 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6191 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6192 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6195 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6197 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6198 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6201 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6202 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6203 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6204 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6207 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6209 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6210 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6213 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6215 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6218 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6220 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6221 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6224 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6226 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6229 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6230 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6231 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6232 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6235 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6237 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6238 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6241 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6243 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6244 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6247 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6249 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6250 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6254 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6255 set process marks based on article body contents.
6262 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6263 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6264 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6267 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6268 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6269 additional articles.
6275 @kindex / / (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6277 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6278 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6282 @kindex / a (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6284 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6285 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6289 @kindex / x (Summary)
6290 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6291 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6292 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6293 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6298 @kindex / u (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6301 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6302 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6303 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6304 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6307 @kindex / m (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6309 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6310 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6313 @kindex / t (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6315 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6317 articles younger than that number of days.
6320 @kindex / n (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6322 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6323 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6324 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6327 @kindex / w (Summary)
6328 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6329 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6330 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6334 @kindex / . (Summary)
6335 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6336 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6337 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6340 @kindex / v (Summary)
6341 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6342 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6343 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6346 @kindex / p (Summary)
6347 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6348 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6349 group parameter predicate
6350 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6351 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6355 @kindex M S (Summary)
6356 @kindex / E (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6358 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6359 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6362 @kindex / D (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6364 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6365 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6368 @kindex / * (Summary)
6369 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6370 Include all cached articles in the limit
6371 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6374 @kindex / d (Summary)
6375 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6376 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6377 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6380 @kindex / M (Summary)
6381 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6382 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6385 @kindex / T (Summary)
6386 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6387 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6390 @kindex / c (Summary)
6391 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6392 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6393 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6396 @kindex / C (Summary)
6397 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6398 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6399 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6400 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6403 @kindex / N (Summary)
6404 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6405 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6406 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6409 @kindex / o (Summary)
6410 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6411 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6412 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6420 @cindex article threading
6422 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6423 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6424 hierarchical fashion.
6426 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6427 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6428 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6429 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6430 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6431 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6432 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6434 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6438 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6441 A tree-like article structure.
6444 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6447 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6448 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6449 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6450 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6451 called loose threads.
6453 @item thread gathering
6454 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6456 @item sparse threads
6457 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6458 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6464 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6465 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6469 @node Customizing Threading
6470 @subsection Customizing Threading
6471 @cindex customizing threading
6474 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6475 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6476 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6477 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6482 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6485 @cindex loose threads
6488 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6489 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6490 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6491 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6492 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6493 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6495 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6496 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6497 There are four possible values:
6501 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6502 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6503 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6504 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6505 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6510 @cindex adopting articles
6515 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6516 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6517 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6518 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6521 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6522 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6523 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6524 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6525 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6526 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6527 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6528 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6529 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6530 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6533 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6534 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6535 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6539 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6540 display them after one another.
6543 Don't gather loose threads.
6546 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6547 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6548 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6549 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6550 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6551 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6552 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6553 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6554 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6555 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6556 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6558 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6559 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6560 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6563 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6564 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6565 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6566 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6567 simplification is used.
6569 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6570 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6571 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6572 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6574 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6576 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6582 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6583 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6584 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6585 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6590 (mapconcat 'identity
6591 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6593 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6596 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6599 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6600 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6601 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6602 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6603 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6604 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6606 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6609 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6610 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6611 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6613 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6614 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6617 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6618 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6619 Remove excessive whitespace.
6621 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6622 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6623 Remove all whitespace.
6626 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6629 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6630 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6631 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6632 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6633 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6634 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6635 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6636 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6638 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6639 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6640 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6641 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6642 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6643 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6644 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6645 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6646 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6650 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6651 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6652 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6653 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6655 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6656 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6657 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6660 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6664 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6665 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6671 @node Filling In Threads
6672 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6675 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6676 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6677 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6678 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6679 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6680 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6681 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6682 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6683 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6684 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6685 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6686 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6689 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6690 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6691 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6693 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6694 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6695 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6698 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6699 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6700 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6701 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6702 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6703 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6704 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6705 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6706 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6707 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6708 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6709 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6710 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6711 @code{nil} by default.
6713 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6714 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6715 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6716 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6717 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6718 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6719 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6721 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6722 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6723 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6728 @node More Threading
6729 @subsubsection More Threading
6732 @item gnus-show-threads
6733 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6734 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6735 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6736 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6737 slower and more awkward.
6739 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6740 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6741 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6744 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6745 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6746 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6751 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6752 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6753 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6756 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6757 unread, but you get my drift.)
6760 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6761 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6762 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6763 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6764 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6765 threads are expunged.
6767 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6768 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6769 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6772 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6773 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6774 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6775 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6776 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6777 result in a new thread.
6779 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6780 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6781 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6784 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6785 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6786 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6787 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6788 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6789 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6790 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6791 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6792 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6793 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6794 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6799 @node Low-Level Threading
6800 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6804 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6805 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6806 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6808 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6809 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6810 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6811 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6812 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6813 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6814 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6815 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6816 meaningful. Here's one example:
6819 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6821 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6822 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6824 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6826 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6833 @node Thread Commands
6834 @subsection Thread Commands
6835 @cindex thread commands
6841 @kindex T k (Summary)
6842 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6843 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6844 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6845 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6846 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6851 @kindex T l (Summary)
6852 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6853 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6854 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6855 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6858 @kindex T i (Summary)
6859 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6860 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6861 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6864 @kindex T # (Summary)
6865 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6866 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6867 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6870 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6871 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6872 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6873 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6876 @kindex T T (Summary)
6877 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6878 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6881 @kindex T s (Summary)
6882 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6883 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6884 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6887 @kindex T h (Summary)
6888 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6889 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6892 @kindex T S (Summary)
6893 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6894 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6897 @kindex T H (Summary)
6898 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6899 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6902 @kindex T t (Summary)
6903 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6904 Re-thread the current article's thread
6905 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6906 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6909 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6910 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6911 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6912 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6916 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6917 understand the numeric prefix.
6922 @kindex T n (Summary)
6924 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6926 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6927 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6928 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6931 @kindex T p (Summary)
6933 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6935 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6936 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6937 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6940 @kindex T d (Summary)
6941 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6942 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6945 @kindex T u (Summary)
6946 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6947 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6950 @kindex T o (Summary)
6951 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6952 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6955 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6956 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6957 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6958 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6959 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6960 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6961 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6962 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6963 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6964 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6965 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6966 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6970 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6971 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6973 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6974 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6975 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6976 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6977 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6978 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6979 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6980 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6981 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
6982 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
6983 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6984 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6985 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6986 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6988 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6989 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6990 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6991 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6992 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6993 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6994 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6995 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6997 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6998 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6999 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7001 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7002 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7003 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7004 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7005 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7006 ascending article order.
7008 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7009 by number, you could do something like:
7012 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7013 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7014 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7015 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7018 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7019 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7020 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7021 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7022 which the articles arrived.
7024 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7028 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7030 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7031 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7034 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7035 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7036 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7037 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7040 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7041 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7042 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7043 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7044 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7045 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7046 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7047 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7048 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7049 variable. It is very similar to the
7050 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7051 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7052 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7053 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7054 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7055 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7056 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7058 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7062 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7063 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7064 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7069 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7070 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7071 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7072 @cindex article pre-fetch
7075 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7076 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7077 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7078 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7079 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7081 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7082 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7084 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7085 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7086 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7087 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7088 connection is blocked.
7090 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7091 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7092 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7093 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7095 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7096 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7097 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7098 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7101 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7104 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7105 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7106 happen automatically.
7108 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7109 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7110 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7111 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7112 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7113 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7114 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7116 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7117 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7118 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7119 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7120 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7121 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7122 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7123 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7124 article data structure as the only parameter.
7126 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7127 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7130 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7131 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7132 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7133 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7136 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7139 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7140 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7141 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7143 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7144 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7145 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7146 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7150 Remove articles when they are read.
7153 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7156 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7158 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7159 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7160 @c from the next group.
7163 @node Article Caching
7164 @section Article Caching
7165 @cindex article caching
7168 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7169 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7170 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7171 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7172 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7174 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7176 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7177 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7178 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7179 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7180 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7181 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7182 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7183 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7185 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7186 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7187 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7188 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7189 as dormant, and don't worry.
7191 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7193 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7194 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7195 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7196 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7197 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7198 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7199 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7200 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7201 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7202 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7204 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7205 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7206 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7207 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7208 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7209 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7210 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7211 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7212 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7213 not then be downloaded by this command.
7215 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7216 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7217 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7218 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7219 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7220 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7222 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7223 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7224 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7225 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7226 variables, the group is not cached.
7228 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7229 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7230 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7231 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7232 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7233 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7234 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7235 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7236 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7239 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7240 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7241 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7242 where, isn't that cool?
7244 @node Persistent Articles
7245 @section Persistent Articles
7246 @cindex persistent articles
7248 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7249 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7250 useful in my opinion.
7252 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7253 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7254 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7255 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7256 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7257 the expiry going on at the news server.
7259 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7260 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7261 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7267 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7268 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7271 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7272 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7273 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7274 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7278 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7280 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7281 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7282 interested in persistent articles:
7285 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7289 @node Article Backlog
7290 @section Article Backlog
7292 @cindex article backlog
7294 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7295 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7296 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7297 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7298 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7299 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7300 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7301 increase memory usage some.
7303 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7304 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7305 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7306 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7307 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7308 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7309 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7311 The default value is 20.
7314 @node Saving Articles
7315 @section Saving Articles
7316 @cindex saving articles
7318 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7319 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7320 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7321 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7322 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7324 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7325 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7326 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7328 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7329 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7330 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7332 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7333 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7334 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7335 deleted before saving.
7341 @kindex O o (Summary)
7343 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7344 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7345 Save the current article using the default article saver
7346 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7349 @kindex O m (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7351 Save the current article in mail format
7352 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7355 @kindex O r (Summary)
7356 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7357 Save the current article in Rmail format
7358 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7361 @kindex O f (Summary)
7362 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7363 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7364 Save the current article in plain file format
7365 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7368 @kindex O F (Summary)
7369 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7370 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7371 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7374 @kindex O b (Summary)
7375 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7376 Save the current article body in plain file format
7377 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7380 @kindex O h (Summary)
7381 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7382 Save the current article in mh folder format
7383 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7386 @kindex O v (Summary)
7387 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7388 Save the current article in a VM folder
7389 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7393 @kindex O p (Summary)
7395 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7396 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7397 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7398 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7399 complete headers in the piped output.
7402 @kindex O P (Summary)
7403 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7404 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7405 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7406 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7407 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7408 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7409 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7413 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7414 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7415 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7416 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7417 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7418 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7419 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7420 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7421 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7422 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7423 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7424 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7428 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7429 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7430 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7431 functions below, or you can create your own.
7435 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7436 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7437 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7438 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7439 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7440 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7441 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7443 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7444 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7445 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7446 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7447 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7448 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7450 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7451 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7452 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7453 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7454 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7455 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7456 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7458 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7459 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7460 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7461 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7462 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7463 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7465 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7466 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7467 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7468 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7469 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7471 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7472 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7473 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7474 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7475 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7478 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7479 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7480 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7481 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7482 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7484 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7485 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7486 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7487 reader to use this setting.
7490 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7491 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7492 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7493 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7496 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7497 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7498 available functions that generate names:
7502 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7503 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7504 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7506 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7507 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7508 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7510 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7511 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7512 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7514 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7515 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7516 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7518 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7519 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7520 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7523 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7524 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7525 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7526 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7527 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7531 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7532 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7533 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7534 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7537 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7538 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7539 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7540 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7541 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7542 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7543 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7544 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7545 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7547 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7548 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7549 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7550 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7552 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7553 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7554 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7557 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7558 lots of mail groups called things like
7559 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7560 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7561 following will do just that:
7564 (defun my-save-name (group)
7565 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7566 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7568 (setq gnus-split-methods
7569 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7574 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7575 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7576 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7577 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7578 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7579 all the files in the top level directory
7580 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7581 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7582 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7583 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7585 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7586 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7587 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7588 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7589 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7592 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7596 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7597 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7598 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7601 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7602 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7603 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7604 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7607 @node Decoding Articles
7608 @section Decoding Articles
7609 @cindex decoding articles
7611 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7612 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7615 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7616 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7617 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7618 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7619 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7620 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7624 @cindex article series
7625 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7626 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7627 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7628 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7629 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7631 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7632 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7633 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7635 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7636 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7637 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7639 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7640 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7641 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7644 @node Uuencoded Articles
7645 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7647 @cindex uuencoded articles
7652 @kindex X u (Summary)
7653 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7654 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7655 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7658 @kindex X U (Summary)
7659 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7660 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7661 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7664 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7665 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7666 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7669 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7670 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7671 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7672 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7676 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7677 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7678 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7679 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7680 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7682 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7683 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7684 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7685 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7688 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7689 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7690 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7691 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7692 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7693 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7697 @node Shell Archives
7698 @subsection Shell Archives
7700 @cindex shell archives
7701 @cindex shared articles
7703 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7704 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7705 some commands to deal with these:
7710 @kindex X s (Summary)
7711 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7712 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7715 @kindex X S (Summary)
7716 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7717 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7720 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7721 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7722 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7725 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7726 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7727 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7728 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7732 @node PostScript Files
7733 @subsection PostScript Files
7739 @kindex X p (Summary)
7740 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7741 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7744 @kindex X P (Summary)
7745 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7746 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7747 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7750 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7751 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7752 View the current PostScript series
7753 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7756 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7757 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7758 View and save the current PostScript series
7759 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7764 @subsection Other Files
7768 @kindex X o (Summary)
7769 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7770 Save the current series
7771 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7774 @kindex X b (Summary)
7775 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7776 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7777 doesn't really work yet.
7781 @node Decoding Variables
7782 @subsection Decoding Variables
7784 Adjective, not verb.
7787 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7788 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7789 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7793 @node Rule Variables
7794 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7795 @cindex rule variables
7797 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7798 variables are of the form
7801 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7808 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7809 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7811 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7812 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7815 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7816 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7819 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7820 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7821 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7822 user and default view rules.
7824 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7825 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7826 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7831 @node Other Decode Variables
7832 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7835 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7837 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7838 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7839 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7840 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7841 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7845 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7846 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7849 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7850 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7851 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7854 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7855 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7856 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7857 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7858 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7861 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7862 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7863 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7865 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7866 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7867 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7868 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7869 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7872 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7873 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7874 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7876 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7877 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7878 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7879 looking for files to display.
7881 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7882 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7883 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7886 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7887 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7888 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7891 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7892 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7893 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7896 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7897 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7898 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7901 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7902 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7903 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7904 decoded articles as unread.
7906 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7907 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7908 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7909 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7911 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7912 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7913 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7915 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7916 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7918 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7919 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7920 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7921 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7923 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7924 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7925 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7926 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7927 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7928 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7929 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7930 simply dropped them.
7935 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7936 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7940 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7941 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7942 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7943 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7944 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7945 for you when you post the article.
7947 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7948 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7949 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7950 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7952 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7953 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7954 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7955 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7956 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7957 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7958 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7960 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7961 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7962 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7963 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7964 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7965 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7966 Default is @code{t}.
7972 @subsection Viewing Files
7973 @cindex viewing files
7974 @cindex pseudo-articles
7976 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7977 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7978 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7979 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7980 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7981 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7982 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7984 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7985 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7986 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7987 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7989 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7990 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7991 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7993 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7994 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7995 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7996 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7997 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7999 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8000 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8001 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8002 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8003 a list of parameters to that command.
8005 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8006 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8007 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8009 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8010 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8011 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8014 @node Article Treatment
8015 @section Article Treatment
8017 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8018 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8019 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8020 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8021 these articles easier.
8024 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8025 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8026 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8027 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8028 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8029 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8030 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8031 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8032 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8033 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8034 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8038 @node Article Highlighting
8039 @subsection Article Highlighting
8040 @cindex highlighting
8042 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8043 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8048 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8049 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8050 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8051 Do much highlighting of the current article
8052 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8053 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8056 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8057 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8058 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8059 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8060 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8061 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8062 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8063 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8064 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8065 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8066 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8067 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8070 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8071 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8072 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8074 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8077 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8079 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8080 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8081 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8083 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8084 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8085 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8087 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8088 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8089 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8090 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8091 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8092 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8094 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8095 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8096 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8098 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8099 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8100 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8102 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8103 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8104 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8105 that it's a citation.
8107 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8108 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8109 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8111 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8112 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8113 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8115 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8116 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8117 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8118 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8124 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8125 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8126 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8127 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8128 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8129 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8130 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8131 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8136 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8139 @node Article Fontisizing
8140 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8142 @cindex article emphasis
8144 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8145 @kindex W e (Summary)
8146 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8147 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8148 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8149 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8151 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8152 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8153 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8154 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8155 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8156 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8157 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8158 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8162 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8163 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8164 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8173 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8174 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8175 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8176 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8177 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8178 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8179 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8180 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8181 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8182 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8183 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8184 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8185 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8187 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8188 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8189 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8193 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8196 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8198 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8199 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8200 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8201 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8203 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8206 @node Article Hiding
8207 @subsection Article Hiding
8208 @cindex article hiding
8210 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8211 too much cruft in most articles.
8216 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8217 @findex gnus-article-hide
8218 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8219 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8220 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8223 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8224 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8225 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8229 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8230 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8231 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8232 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8235 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8236 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8237 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8241 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8242 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8243 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8244 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8245 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8246 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8247 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8248 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8252 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8253 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8254 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8255 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8260 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8261 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8262 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8263 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8266 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8267 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8268 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8269 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8272 @cindex stripping advertisements
8273 @cindex advertisements
8274 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8275 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8276 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8277 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8278 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8279 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8280 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8281 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8282 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8283 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8286 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8287 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8288 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8292 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8293 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8294 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8295 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8296 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8297 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8298 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8299 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8300 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8301 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8302 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8305 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8306 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8312 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8313 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8314 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8315 customizing the hiding:
8319 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8320 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8321 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8322 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8323 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8324 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8325 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8330 Starting point of the hidden text.
8332 Ending point of the hidden text.
8334 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8336 Number of lines of hidden text.
8339 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8340 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8341 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8342 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8343 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8348 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8349 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8351 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8352 following two variables:
8355 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8356 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8357 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8358 50), hide the cited text.
8360 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8361 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8362 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8367 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8368 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8369 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8370 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8371 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8372 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8376 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8377 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8378 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8380 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8381 citation customization.
8383 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8387 @node Article Washing
8388 @subsection Article Washing
8390 @cindex article washing
8392 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8393 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8395 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8396 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8399 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8400 articles by default.
8405 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8406 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8410 Force redisplaying of the current article
8411 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8412 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8413 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8414 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8417 @kindex W l (Summary)
8418 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8419 Remove page breaks from the current article
8420 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8424 @kindex W r (Summary)
8425 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8426 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8427 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8428 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8429 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8430 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8432 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8433 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8434 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8435 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8438 @kindex W m (Summary)
8439 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8440 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8444 @kindex W t (Summary)
8446 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8447 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8448 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8451 @kindex W v (Summary)
8452 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8453 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8454 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8457 @kindex W o (Summary)
8458 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8459 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8462 @kindex W d (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8464 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8466 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8468 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8469 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8470 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8471 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8474 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8475 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8476 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8477 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8480 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8481 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8482 @cindex Outlook Express
8483 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8484 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8485 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8488 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8489 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8490 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8491 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8492 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8493 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8494 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8495 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8496 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8497 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8500 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8501 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8502 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8503 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8506 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8507 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8508 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8509 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8512 @kindex W w (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8514 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8516 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8520 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8522 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8525 @kindex W C (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8527 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8528 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8531 @kindex W c (Summary)
8532 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8533 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8534 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8535 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8536 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8539 @kindex W q (Summary)
8540 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8541 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8542 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8543 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8544 makes strings like @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which
8545 doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually done
8546 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8547 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8548 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8551 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8552 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8553 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8554 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8555 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8556 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8557 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8558 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8561 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8562 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8563 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8564 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8565 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8568 @kindex W u (Summary)
8569 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8570 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8571 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8572 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8573 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8576 @kindex W h (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8578 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8579 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8580 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8582 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8584 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8585 The default is to use the function specified by
8586 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8587 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8588 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8589 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8597 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8600 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8603 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8606 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8611 @kindex W b (Summary)
8612 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8613 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8614 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8617 @kindex W B (Summary)
8618 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8619 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8620 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8623 @kindex W p (Summary)
8624 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8625 Verify a signed control message
8626 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8627 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8628 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8629 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8630 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8631 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8634 @kindex W s (Summary)
8635 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8636 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8637 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8638 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8641 @kindex W a (Summary)
8642 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8643 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8644 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8647 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8648 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8649 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8650 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8653 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8654 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8655 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8656 lines with a single empty line.
8657 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8660 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8661 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8662 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8663 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8666 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8668 Do all the three commands above
8669 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8672 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8673 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8674 Remove all blank lines
8675 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8678 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8680 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8681 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8684 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8685 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8686 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8687 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8691 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8694 @node Article Header
8695 @subsection Article Header
8697 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8702 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8703 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8704 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8707 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8708 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8709 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8710 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8713 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8714 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8715 Fold all the message headers
8716 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8719 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8720 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8721 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8722 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8727 @node Article Buttons
8728 @subsection Article Buttons
8731 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8732 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8733 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8734 button on these references.
8736 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8737 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8738 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8739 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8740 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8744 @item gnus-button-alist
8745 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8746 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8749 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8755 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8756 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8757 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8758 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8759 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8762 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8763 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8764 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8767 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8768 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8769 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8770 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8771 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8773 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8776 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8779 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8780 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8784 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8787 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8790 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8791 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8792 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8793 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8794 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8797 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8800 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8803 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8806 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8807 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8809 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8811 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8812 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8813 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8814 default values of the variables above.
8816 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8818 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8819 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8820 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8821 argument with a string naming the man page.
8823 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8825 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8826 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8827 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8829 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8830 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8831 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8832 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8833 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8834 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8835 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8836 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8837 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8838 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8839 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8840 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8842 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8843 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8844 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8845 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8846 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8849 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8850 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8851 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8852 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8854 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8856 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8857 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8858 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8859 argument, the string naming the URL.
8862 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8863 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8864 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8868 @item gnus-article-button-face
8869 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8870 Face used on buttons.
8872 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8873 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8874 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8878 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8881 @node Article Button Levels
8882 @subsection Article button levels
8883 @cindex button levels
8884 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8885 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8886 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8887 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8888 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8889 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8890 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8891 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8894 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8895 (setq gnus-parameters
8896 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8897 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8898 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8903 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8904 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8905 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8906 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8907 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8908 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8910 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8911 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8912 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8913 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8914 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8915 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8916 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8917 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8918 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8919 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8920 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8921 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8922 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8924 @item gnus-button-man-level
8925 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8926 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8927 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8929 @item gnus-button-message-level
8930 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8931 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8932 Related variables and functions include
8933 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8934 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8935 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8936 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8938 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8939 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8940 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8941 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8942 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8943 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8944 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8950 @subsection Article Date
8952 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8953 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8954 when the article was sent.
8959 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8960 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8961 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8962 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8965 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8966 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8968 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8969 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8972 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8973 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8974 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8977 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8978 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8979 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8980 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8983 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8984 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8985 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8986 @findex format-time-string
8987 Display the date using a user-defined format
8988 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8989 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8990 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8991 for a list of possible format specs.
8994 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8995 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8996 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8997 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8998 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8999 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9002 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9005 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9006 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9007 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9010 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9011 into wonderful absurdities.
9013 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9016 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9019 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9020 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9024 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9025 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9026 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9027 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9028 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9029 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9030 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9034 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9035 preferred format automatically.
9038 @node Article Display
9039 @subsection Article Display
9044 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9045 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9047 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9048 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9050 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9051 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9053 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9054 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9056 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9057 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9059 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9064 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9065 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9066 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9067 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9070 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9071 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9072 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9073 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9076 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9077 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9078 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9081 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9082 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9083 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9086 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9087 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9088 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9089 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9092 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9093 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9094 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9095 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9098 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9099 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9100 Remove all images from the article buffer
9101 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9107 @node Article Signature
9108 @subsection Article Signature
9110 @cindex article signature
9112 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9113 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9114 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9115 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9116 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9117 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9118 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9119 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9120 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9123 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9124 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9125 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9126 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9127 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9128 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9129 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9130 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9133 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9136 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9137 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9138 signature when displaying articles.
9142 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9145 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9148 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9149 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9151 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9152 in question is not a signature.
9155 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9156 listed above. Here's an example:
9159 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9160 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9163 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9164 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9165 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9166 signature after all.
9169 @node Article Miscellanea
9170 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9174 @kindex A t (Summary)
9175 @findex gnus-article-babel
9176 Translate the article from one language to another
9177 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9183 @section MIME Commands
9184 @cindex MIME decoding
9186 @cindex viewing attachments
9188 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9189 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9195 @kindex K v (Summary)
9196 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9199 @kindex K o (Summary)
9200 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9203 @kindex K c (Summary)
9204 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9207 @kindex K e (Summary)
9208 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9211 @kindex K i (Summary)
9212 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9215 @kindex K | (Summary)
9216 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9219 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9224 @kindex K b (Summary)
9225 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9226 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9230 @kindex K m (Summary)
9231 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9232 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9233 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9234 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9235 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9238 @kindex X m (Summary)
9239 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9240 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9241 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9242 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9245 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9246 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9247 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9248 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9251 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9252 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9253 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9254 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9257 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9258 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9259 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9260 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9262 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9263 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9264 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9265 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9266 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9267 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9270 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9271 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9272 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9273 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9280 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9281 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9282 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9283 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9286 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9289 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9293 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9294 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9295 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9296 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9297 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9298 default is @code{nil}.
9300 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9301 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9302 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9303 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9304 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9305 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9306 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9308 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9309 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9310 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9311 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9312 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9313 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9314 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9315 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9317 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9318 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9319 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9320 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9321 displayed. This variable overrides
9322 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9323 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9326 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9327 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9328 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9330 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9331 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9332 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9333 default value is @code{nil}.
9335 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9336 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9337 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9338 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9339 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9340 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9341 save all jpegs into some directory).
9343 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9346 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9347 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9349 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9350 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9351 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9352 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9353 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9356 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9357 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9358 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9360 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9361 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9362 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9363 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9365 Ready-made functions include@*
9366 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9367 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9368 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9369 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9370 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9371 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9372 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9373 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9374 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9375 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9376 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9377 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9379 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9380 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9382 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9383 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9384 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9387 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9388 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9389 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9390 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9394 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9403 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9404 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9405 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9406 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9407 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9408 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9409 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9411 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9412 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9413 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9414 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9416 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9417 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9418 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9419 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9420 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9421 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9422 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9423 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9424 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9426 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9427 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9428 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9429 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9430 quoted-printable header encoding.
9432 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9433 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9434 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9438 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9441 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9442 means encode all charsets),
9444 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9445 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9446 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9453 @cindex coding system aliases
9454 @cindex preferred charset
9456 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9458 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9459 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9462 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9463 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9466 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9467 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9469 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9472 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9475 This will almost do the right thing.
9477 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9481 (codepage-setup 1251)
9482 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9486 @node Article Commands
9487 @section Article Commands
9494 @kindex A P (Summary)
9495 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9496 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9497 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9498 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9499 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9500 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9505 @node Summary Sorting
9506 @section Summary Sorting
9507 @cindex summary sorting
9509 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9510 can't really see why you'd want that.
9515 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9516 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9517 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9520 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9521 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9522 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9525 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9526 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9527 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9530 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9531 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9532 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9535 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9536 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9537 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9540 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9541 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9542 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9545 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9546 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9547 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9550 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9551 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9552 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9555 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9556 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9557 Sort using the default sorting method
9558 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9561 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9562 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9563 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9564 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9565 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9569 @node Finding the Parent
9570 @section Finding the Parent
9571 @cindex parent articles
9572 @cindex referring articles
9577 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9578 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9579 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9580 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9581 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9582 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9583 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9584 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9585 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9587 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9588 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9589 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9590 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9591 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9595 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9596 @kindex A R (Summary)
9597 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9598 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9601 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9602 @kindex A T (Summary)
9603 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9604 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9605 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9606 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9607 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9608 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9609 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9611 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9612 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9613 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9614 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9615 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9616 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9619 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9620 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9622 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9623 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9624 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9625 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9626 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9627 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9628 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9631 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9632 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9633 by giving this command a prefix.
9635 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9636 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9637 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9638 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9639 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9640 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9643 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9644 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9645 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9648 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9649 then ask Google if that fails:
9652 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9654 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9657 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9658 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9659 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9660 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9661 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9662 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9663 not support this at all.
9666 @node Alternative Approaches
9667 @section Alternative Approaches
9669 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9670 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9673 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9674 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9679 @subsection Pick and Read
9680 @cindex pick and read
9682 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9683 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9684 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9685 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9687 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9688 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9689 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9690 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9691 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9692 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9694 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9699 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9700 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9701 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9702 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9703 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9704 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9705 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9706 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9709 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9710 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9711 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9712 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9716 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9717 Unpick the thread or article
9718 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9719 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9720 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9721 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9722 the thread or article at that line.
9726 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9727 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9728 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9729 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9730 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9731 will still be visible when you are reading.
9735 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9736 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9737 which is mapped to the same function
9738 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9740 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9743 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9746 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9747 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9749 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9750 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9751 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9753 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9754 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9755 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9756 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9757 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9758 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9759 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9763 @subsection Binary Groups
9764 @cindex binary groups
9766 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9767 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9768 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9769 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9770 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9771 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9772 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9775 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9776 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9777 command, when you have turned on this mode
9778 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9780 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9781 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9785 @section Tree Display
9788 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9789 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9790 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9791 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9794 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9797 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9798 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9799 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9801 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9802 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9803 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9804 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9805 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9807 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9808 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9809 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9810 default is @code{modeline}.
9812 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9813 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9814 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9815 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9816 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9817 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9818 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9824 The name of the poster.
9826 The @code{From} header.
9828 The number of the article.
9830 The opening bracket.
9832 The closing bracket.
9837 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9839 Variables related to the display are:
9842 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9843 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9844 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9845 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9847 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9848 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9849 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9851 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9853 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9854 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9855 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9856 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9860 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9861 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9862 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9863 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9864 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9865 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9866 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9867 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9868 other windows displayed next to it.
9870 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9874 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9875 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9878 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9879 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9880 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9881 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9882 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9883 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9884 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9888 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9891 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9901 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9906 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9907 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9909 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9911 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9917 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9918 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9919 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9922 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9923 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9924 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9925 (gnus-add-configuration
9929 (summary 0.75 point)
9934 @xref{Window Layout}.
9937 @node Mail Group Commands
9938 @section Mail Group Commands
9939 @cindex mail group commands
9941 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9942 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9944 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9945 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9950 @kindex B e (Summary)
9951 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9952 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9953 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9954 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9955 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9958 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9959 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9960 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9961 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9962 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9963 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9966 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9967 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9968 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9969 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9970 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9971 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9974 @kindex B m (Summary)
9976 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9977 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9978 Move the article from one mail group to another
9979 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9980 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9983 @kindex B c (Summary)
9985 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9986 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9987 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9988 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9989 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9992 @kindex B B (Summary)
9993 @cindex crosspost mail
9994 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9995 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9996 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9997 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9998 be properly updated.
10001 @kindex B i (Summary)
10002 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10003 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10004 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10005 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10008 @kindex B I (Summary)
10009 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10010 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10011 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10012 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10015 @kindex B r (Summary)
10016 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10017 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10018 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10019 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10020 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10021 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10022 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10023 (which is the default).
10027 @kindex B w (Summary)
10028 @kindex e (Summary)
10029 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10030 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10031 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10032 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10033 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10034 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10035 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10038 @kindex B q (Summary)
10039 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10040 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10041 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10042 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10045 @kindex B t (Summary)
10046 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10047 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10048 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10051 @kindex B p (Summary)
10052 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10053 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10054 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10055 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10056 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10057 article from your news server (or rather, from
10058 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10059 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10060 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10061 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10062 just not have arrived yet.
10065 @kindex K E (Summary)
10066 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10067 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10068 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10069 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10070 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10074 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10075 @cindex moving articles
10076 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10077 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10078 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10079 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10080 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10081 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10082 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10085 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10086 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10087 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10088 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10092 @node Various Summary Stuff
10093 @section Various Summary Stuff
10096 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10097 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10098 * Summary Generation Commands::
10099 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10103 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10104 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10105 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10106 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10107 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10108 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10110 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10111 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10112 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10115 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10116 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10117 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10119 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10120 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10121 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10122 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10123 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10124 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10127 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10128 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10129 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10130 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10131 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10133 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10134 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10135 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10138 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10139 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10140 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10141 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10142 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10143 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10144 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10145 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10146 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10147 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10149 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10150 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10151 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10152 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10153 list of articles to be selected.
10155 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10156 the list in one particular group:
10159 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10160 (if (string= group "some.group")
10161 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10165 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10166 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10167 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10168 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10169 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10170 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10171 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10172 other buffers. For example:
10175 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10176 '(message-use-followup-to
10177 (gnus-visible-headers .
10178 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10184 @node Summary Group Information
10185 @subsection Summary Group Information
10190 @kindex H f (Summary)
10191 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10192 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10193 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10194 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10195 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10196 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10197 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10198 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10199 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10202 @kindex H d (Summary)
10203 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10204 Give a brief description of the current group
10205 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10206 rereading the description from the server.
10209 @kindex H h (Summary)
10210 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10211 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10212 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10215 @kindex H i (Summary)
10216 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10217 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10221 @node Searching for Articles
10222 @subsection Searching for Articles
10227 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10228 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10229 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10230 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10233 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10234 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10235 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10236 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10239 @kindex & (Summary)
10240 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10241 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10242 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10243 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10244 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10245 search backward instead.
10247 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10248 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10251 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10252 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10253 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10254 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10257 @node Summary Generation Commands
10258 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10263 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10264 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10265 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10268 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10269 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10270 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10271 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10274 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10275 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10276 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10277 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10282 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10283 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10289 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10290 @kindex A D (Summary)
10291 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10292 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10293 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10294 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10295 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10296 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10297 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10298 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10302 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10303 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10304 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10305 several documents into one biiig group
10306 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10307 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10308 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10309 command understands the process/prefix convention
10310 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10313 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10314 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10315 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10316 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10317 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10318 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10321 @kindex = (Summary)
10322 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10323 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10324 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10327 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10328 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10329 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10330 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10333 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10334 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10335 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10336 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10341 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10342 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10343 @cindex summary exit
10344 @cindex exiting groups
10346 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10347 group and return you to the group buffer.
10354 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10355 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10356 @kindex q (Summary)
10357 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10358 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10359 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10360 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10361 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10362 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10363 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10364 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10365 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10366 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10367 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10368 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10372 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10373 @kindex Q (Summary)
10374 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10375 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10376 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10380 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10381 @kindex c (Summary)
10382 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10383 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10384 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10385 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10388 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10389 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10390 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10391 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10394 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10395 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10396 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10397 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10401 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10402 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10403 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10404 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10405 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10406 all articles, both read and unread.
10410 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10411 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10412 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10413 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10414 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10415 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10416 articles, both read and unread.
10419 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10420 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10421 Exit the group and go to the next group
10422 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10425 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10426 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10427 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10428 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10431 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10432 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10433 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10434 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10435 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10436 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10439 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10440 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10441 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10442 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10444 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10445 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10446 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10447 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10448 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10449 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10450 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10451 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10452 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10453 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10454 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10455 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10457 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10459 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10460 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10461 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10462 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10463 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10464 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10465 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10466 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10467 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10470 @node Crosspost Handling
10471 @section Crosspost Handling
10475 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10476 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10477 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10478 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10479 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10480 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10483 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10484 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10485 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10486 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10487 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10489 @cindex cross-posting
10491 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10492 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10493 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10494 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10495 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10496 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10497 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10498 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10499 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10500 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10501 the cross reference mechanism.
10503 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10504 @cindex overview.fmt
10505 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10506 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10507 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10508 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10509 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10510 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10513 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10514 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10515 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10520 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10523 @node Duplicate Suppression
10524 @section Duplicate Suppression
10526 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10527 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10528 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10529 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10534 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10535 is evil and not very common.
10538 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10539 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10542 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10543 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10546 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10549 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10550 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10552 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10553 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10554 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10555 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10556 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10557 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10558 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10561 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10562 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10563 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10564 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10565 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10566 saw the article in.
10569 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10570 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10571 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10573 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10574 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10575 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10576 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10577 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10578 session are suppressed.
10580 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10581 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10582 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10583 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10585 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10586 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10587 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10588 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10591 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10592 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10593 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10594 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10595 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10596 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10597 to you to figure out, I think.
10602 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10603 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10604 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10609 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10610 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10611 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10612 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10615 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10616 or newer is recommended.
10620 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10621 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10624 @item mm-verify-option
10625 @vindex mm-verify-option
10626 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10627 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10628 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10630 @item mm-decrypt-option
10631 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10632 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10633 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10634 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10637 @vindex mml1991-use
10638 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10639 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10640 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10644 @vindex mml2015-use
10645 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10646 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10647 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10652 @cindex snarfing keys
10653 @cindex importing PGP keys
10654 @cindex PGP key ring import
10655 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10656 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10657 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10658 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10659 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10660 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10661 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10662 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10663 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10666 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10669 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10670 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10673 @section Mailing List
10674 @cindex mailing list
10677 @kindex A M (summary)
10678 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10679 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10680 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10681 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10684 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10689 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10690 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10691 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10694 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10695 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10696 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10699 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10700 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10701 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10705 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10706 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10707 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10710 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10711 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10712 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10715 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10716 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10717 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10722 @node Article Buffer
10723 @chapter Article Buffer
10724 @cindex article buffer
10726 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10727 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10728 tell Gnus otherwise.
10731 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10732 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10733 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10734 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10735 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10739 @node Hiding Headers
10740 @section Hiding Headers
10741 @cindex hiding headers
10742 @cindex deleting headers
10744 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10745 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10747 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10748 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10749 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10750 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10751 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10752 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10753 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10754 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10755 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10757 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10761 @item gnus-visible-headers
10762 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10763 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10764 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10765 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10767 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10768 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10771 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10774 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10777 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10778 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10779 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10780 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10781 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10782 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10784 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10785 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10788 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10791 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10794 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10795 variable will have no effect.
10799 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10800 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10801 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10802 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10803 the headers are to be displayed.
10805 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10806 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10809 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10812 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10813 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10815 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10816 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10817 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10818 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10819 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10820 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10821 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10824 These conditions are:
10827 Remove all empty headers.
10829 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10830 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10832 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
10833 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
10836 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10839 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10840 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
10842 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10843 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10845 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10846 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10848 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10851 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10853 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10856 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10859 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10860 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10863 This is also the default value for this variable.
10867 @section Using MIME
10868 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10870 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10871 while people stand around yawning.
10873 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10874 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10876 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10877 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10878 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10880 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10881 @findex gnus-display-mime
10882 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10883 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10884 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10885 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
10887 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10888 @acronym{MIME} button:
10891 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10892 @item RET (Article)
10893 @kindex RET (Article)
10894 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10895 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
10896 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
10897 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10898 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10899 object is displayed inline.
10901 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10902 @item M-RET (Article)
10903 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10905 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10906 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10908 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10910 @kindex t (Article)
10911 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
10912 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10914 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10916 @kindex C (Article)
10917 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10918 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10920 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10922 @kindex o (Article)
10923 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
10924 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10926 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10927 @item C-o (Article)
10928 @kindex C-o (Article)
10929 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
10930 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10931 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10932 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
10933 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
10934 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10936 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
10938 @kindex d (Article)
10939 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
10940 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
10941 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
10943 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10945 @kindex c (Article)
10946 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10947 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10948 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10949 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10950 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10952 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10954 @kindex p (Article)
10955 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10956 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10957 @file{.mailcap} file.
10959 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10961 @kindex i (Article)
10962 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
10963 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10964 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10965 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10966 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
10969 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10971 @kindex E (Article)
10972 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10973 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10974 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10976 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10978 @kindex e (Article)
10979 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
10980 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10982 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10984 @kindex | (Article)
10985 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10987 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10989 @kindex . (Article)
10990 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
10991 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10995 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10996 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10997 @acronym{MIME} manual.
10999 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11000 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11001 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11002 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11003 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11004 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11005 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11006 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11007 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11009 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11011 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11014 @node Customizing Articles
11015 @section Customizing Articles
11016 @cindex article customization
11018 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11019 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11020 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11021 called automatically when you select the articles.
11023 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11024 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11025 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11026 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11028 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11029 for sensible values.
11033 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11036 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11039 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11042 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
11045 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11049 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11050 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11051 regexps in the list.
11054 A list where the first element is not a string:
11056 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11057 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11058 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11062 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11067 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11068 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11069 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11070 considered to contain just a single part.
11072 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11073 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11074 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11075 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11076 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11077 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11078 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11080 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11081 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11082 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11083 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11086 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11087 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11089 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11091 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11092 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11093 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11094 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11095 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11096 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11097 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11098 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11099 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11100 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11102 @xref{Article Washing}.
11104 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11105 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11106 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11107 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11108 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11109 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11110 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11112 @xref{Article Date}.
11114 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11115 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11116 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11120 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11122 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11124 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11125 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11126 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11130 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11134 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11138 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11139 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11140 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11141 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11142 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11143 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11144 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11145 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11146 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11147 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11149 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11151 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11152 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11153 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11155 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11157 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11158 @item gnus-treat-translate
11159 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11161 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11162 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11163 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11164 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11166 @xref{Article Header}.
11171 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11172 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11173 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11174 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11175 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11179 @node Article Keymap
11180 @section Article Keymap
11182 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11183 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11184 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11185 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11188 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11193 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11194 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11195 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11196 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11199 @kindex DEL (Article)
11200 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11201 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11202 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11205 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11206 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11207 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11208 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11209 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11212 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11213 @findex gnus-article-mail
11214 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11215 given a prefix, include the mail.
11218 @kindex s (Article)
11219 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11220 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11221 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11224 @kindex ? (Article)
11225 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11226 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11227 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11230 @kindex TAB (Article)
11231 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11232 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11233 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11236 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11237 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11238 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11241 @kindex R (Article)
11242 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11243 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11244 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11245 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11249 @kindex F (Article)
11250 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11251 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11252 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11253 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11261 @section Misc Article
11265 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11266 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11267 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11268 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11271 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11272 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11273 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11274 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11275 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11277 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11278 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11279 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11280 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11281 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11282 the contents of the article buffer.
11284 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11285 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11286 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11288 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11289 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11290 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11291 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11293 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11294 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11295 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11296 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11298 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11299 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11300 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11301 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11302 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11308 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11309 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11310 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11315 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11318 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11321 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11322 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11323 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11326 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11329 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11332 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11337 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11341 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11343 @item gnus-break-pages
11344 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11345 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11346 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11347 paging will not be done.
11349 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11350 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11351 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11355 @cindex internationalized domain names
11356 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11357 @item gnus-use-idna
11358 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11359 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11360 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11361 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11362 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11367 @node Composing Messages
11368 @chapter Composing Messages
11369 @cindex composing messages
11372 @cindex sending mail
11377 @cindex using s/mime
11378 @cindex using smime
11380 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11381 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11382 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11383 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11384 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11385 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11388 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11389 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11390 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11391 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11392 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11393 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11394 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11395 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11398 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11399 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11405 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11408 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11409 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11410 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11411 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11412 @code{nil} include all headers.
11414 @item gnus-add-to-list
11415 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11416 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11417 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11419 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11420 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11421 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11422 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11423 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11424 confirmation is should be asked for.
11426 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11427 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11429 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11430 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11431 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11432 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11433 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11438 @node Posting Server
11439 @section Posting Server
11441 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11442 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11444 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11446 It can be quite complicated.
11448 @vindex gnus-post-method
11449 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11450 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11451 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11452 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11453 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11454 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11455 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11456 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11457 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11460 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11463 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11464 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11465 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11466 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11468 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11469 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11471 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11472 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11475 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11476 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11478 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11479 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11480 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11481 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11482 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11483 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11484 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11485 package correctly. An example:
11488 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11489 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11492 To the thing similar to this, there is
11493 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11494 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11495 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11497 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11498 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11499 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11501 @node Mail and Post
11502 @section Mail and Post
11504 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11508 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11509 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11510 @cindex mailing lists
11512 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11513 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11514 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11515 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11516 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11517 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11518 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11519 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11520 still a pain, though.
11522 @item gnus-user-agent
11523 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11526 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11527 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11528 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11529 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11530 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11531 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11532 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11536 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11537 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11538 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11541 @findex ispell-message
11543 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11546 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11547 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11550 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11554 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11555 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11557 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11560 Modify to suit your needs.
11563 @node Archived Messages
11564 @section Archived Messages
11565 @cindex archived messages
11566 @cindex sent messages
11568 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11569 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11570 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11571 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11574 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11575 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11578 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11579 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11580 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11583 (nnfolder "archive"
11584 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11585 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11586 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11587 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11590 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11591 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11592 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11593 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11596 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11597 '(nnfolder "archive"
11598 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11599 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11600 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11603 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11605 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11606 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11607 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11609 This variable can be used to do the following:
11613 Messages will be saved in that group.
11615 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11616 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11617 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11618 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11619 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11620 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11621 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11622 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11625 @item a list of strings
11626 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11628 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11629 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11632 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11637 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11639 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11642 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11644 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11647 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11649 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11650 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11651 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11652 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11655 More complex stuff:
11657 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11658 '((if (message-news-p)
11663 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11664 messages in one file per month:
11667 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11668 '((if (message-news-p)
11670 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11673 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11674 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11676 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11677 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11678 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11679 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11680 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11681 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11682 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11683 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11684 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11685 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11687 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11688 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11689 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11690 this will disable archiving.
11693 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11694 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11695 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11696 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11697 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11700 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11701 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11702 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11705 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11706 but the latter is the preferred method.
11708 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11709 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11710 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11712 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11713 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11714 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11715 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11716 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11717 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11718 changed in the future.
11723 @node Posting Styles
11724 @section Posting Styles
11725 @cindex posting styles
11728 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11730 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11731 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11732 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11735 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11736 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11737 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11738 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11739 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11744 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11745 (organization "What me?"))
11747 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11748 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11749 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11752 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11753 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11754 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11755 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11756 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11757 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11758 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11759 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11761 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11762 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11763 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11764 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11765 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11766 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11767 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11768 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11769 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11770 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11771 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11772 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11773 said to @dfn{match}.
11775 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11776 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11777 attribute name can be one of:
11780 @item @code{signature}
11781 @item @code{signature-file}
11782 @item @code{x-face-file}
11783 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11784 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11788 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11789 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11790 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11791 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11792 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11794 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11795 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11796 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11797 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11798 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11799 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11800 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11801 references chars lines xref extra.
11803 @vindex message-reply-headers
11805 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11806 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11807 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11809 @findex message-mail-p
11810 @findex message-news-p
11812 So here's a new example:
11815 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11817 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11819 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11820 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11822 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11823 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11824 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11825 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11826 (signature my-news-signature))
11827 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11828 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11829 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11830 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11831 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11832 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11833 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11834 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11835 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11836 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11838 (From (save-excursion
11839 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11840 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11842 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11845 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11846 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11847 if you fill many roles.
11854 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11855 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11856 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11857 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11858 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11860 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11861 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11862 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11863 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11864 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11868 @vindex nndraft-directory
11869 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11870 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11871 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11872 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11873 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11874 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11876 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11877 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11878 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11879 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11880 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11881 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11882 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11883 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11884 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11886 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11887 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11888 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11889 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11890 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11891 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11892 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11893 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11894 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11895 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11896 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11897 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11898 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11899 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11901 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11902 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11903 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11905 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11906 @kindex D e (Draft)
11907 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11908 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11909 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11911 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11914 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11915 @kindex D s (Draft)
11916 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11917 @kindex D S (Draft)
11918 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11919 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11920 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11921 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11922 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11925 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11926 @kindex D t (Draft)
11927 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11928 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11929 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11932 @node Rejected Articles
11933 @section Rejected Articles
11934 @cindex rejected articles
11936 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11937 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11938 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11939 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11941 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11942 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11943 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11944 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11945 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11947 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11948 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11949 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11951 @node Signing and encrypting
11952 @section Signing and encrypting
11954 @cindex using s/mime
11955 @cindex using smime
11957 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11958 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11959 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11960 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11962 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11963 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11964 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11965 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11966 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11967 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11968 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11969 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11970 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11971 automatically encrypted messages.
11973 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
11974 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
11975 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11980 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
11981 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11983 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11986 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
11987 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11989 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11992 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
11993 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11995 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11998 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
11999 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12001 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12004 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12005 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12007 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12010 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12011 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12013 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12016 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12017 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12018 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12022 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12024 @node Select Methods
12025 @chapter Select Methods
12026 @cindex foreign groups
12027 @cindex select methods
12029 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12030 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12031 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12032 personal mail group.
12034 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12035 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12036 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12037 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12038 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12039 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12041 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12042 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12044 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12047 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12048 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12049 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12050 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12051 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12053 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12056 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12057 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12058 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12059 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12060 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12061 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12062 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12063 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12067 @node Server Buffer
12068 @section Server Buffer
12070 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12071 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12072 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12073 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12074 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12075 back end represents a virtual server.
12077 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12078 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12079 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12080 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12082 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12083 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12084 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12085 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12086 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12087 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12088 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12090 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12091 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12094 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12095 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12096 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12097 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12098 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12099 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12100 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12103 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12104 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12107 @node Server Buffer Format
12108 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12109 @cindex server buffer format
12111 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12112 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12113 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12114 variable, with some simple extensions:
12119 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12122 The name of this server.
12125 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12128 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12131 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12132 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12133 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12134 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12144 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12147 @node Server Commands
12148 @subsection Server Commands
12149 @cindex server commands
12155 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12156 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12160 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12161 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12164 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12165 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12166 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12170 @findex gnus-server-exit
12171 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12175 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12176 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12180 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12181 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12185 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12186 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12190 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12191 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12195 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12196 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12197 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12202 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12203 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12204 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12205 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12210 @node Example Methods
12211 @subsection Example Methods
12213 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12216 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12219 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12225 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12226 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12229 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12230 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12232 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12233 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12237 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12240 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12241 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12243 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12244 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12245 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12249 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12252 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12255 Here's the method for a public spool:
12259 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12260 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12266 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12267 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12268 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12269 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12270 should probably look something like this:
12274 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12275 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12276 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12277 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12280 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12281 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12282 configuration to the example above:
12285 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12288 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12290 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12291 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12292 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12296 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12297 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12298 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12299 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12302 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12303 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12304 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12305 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12308 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12309 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12311 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12312 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12314 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12315 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12316 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12318 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12320 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12321 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12322 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12323 will contain the following:
12333 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12334 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12337 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12338 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12339 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12342 @node Server Variables
12343 @subsection Server Variables
12344 @cindex server variables
12345 @cindex server parameters
12347 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12348 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12349 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12350 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12351 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12353 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12354 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12355 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12356 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12357 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12358 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12359 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12360 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12361 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12365 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12366 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12367 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12370 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12372 @node Servers and Methods
12373 @subsection Servers and Methods
12375 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12376 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12377 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12378 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12382 @node Unavailable Servers
12383 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12385 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12386 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12387 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12388 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12389 actually the case or not.
12391 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12392 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12393 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12394 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12395 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12396 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12397 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12398 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12400 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12401 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12403 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12404 with the following commands:
12410 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12411 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12412 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12416 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12417 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12418 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12422 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12423 Mark the current server as unreachable
12424 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12427 @kindex M-o (Server)
12428 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12429 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12430 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12433 @kindex M-c (Server)
12434 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12435 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12436 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12440 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12441 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12442 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12446 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12447 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12453 @section Getting News
12454 @cindex reading news
12455 @cindex news back ends
12457 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12458 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12459 or it can read from a local spool.
12462 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12463 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12471 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12472 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12473 server as the, uhm, address.
12475 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12476 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12477 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12478 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12480 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12481 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12482 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12484 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12489 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12490 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12491 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12493 @cindex authentification
12494 @cindex nntp authentification
12495 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12496 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12497 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12498 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12499 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12500 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12501 present in this hook.
12503 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12504 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12505 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12506 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12507 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12508 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12509 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12510 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12511 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12512 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12513 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12514 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12518 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12521 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12523 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12524 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12525 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12526 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12527 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12528 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12529 @samp{force} is explained below.
12533 Here's an example file:
12536 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12537 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12540 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12541 have to be first, for instance.
12543 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12544 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12545 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12546 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12547 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12548 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12549 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12551 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12552 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12558 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12559 previously mentioned.
12561 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12563 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12564 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12565 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12566 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12567 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12570 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12571 '(("innd" (ding))))
12574 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12576 The default value is
12579 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12580 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12581 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12584 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12585 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12587 @item nntp-maximum-request
12588 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12589 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12590 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12591 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12592 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12593 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12594 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12596 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12597 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12598 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12599 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12600 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12601 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12602 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12603 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12604 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12605 no timeouts are done.
12607 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12608 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12609 @c @cindex PPP connections
12610 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12611 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12612 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12613 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12614 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12615 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12616 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12617 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12618 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12619 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12621 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12622 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12623 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12624 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12625 @c described above.
12627 @item nntp-server-hook
12628 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12629 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12632 @item nntp-buggy-select
12633 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12634 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12636 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12637 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12638 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12639 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12642 @item nntp-xover-commands
12643 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12644 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12646 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12647 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12651 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12652 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12653 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12654 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12655 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12656 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12657 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12658 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12659 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12660 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12661 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12663 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12664 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12665 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12667 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12668 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12669 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12670 server closes connection.
12672 @item nntp-record-commands
12673 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12674 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12675 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12676 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12677 that doesn't seem to work.
12679 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12680 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12681 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12682 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12683 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12684 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12685 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12686 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12688 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12689 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12690 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12691 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12692 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12693 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12694 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12697 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12700 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12701 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12703 @item nntp-read-timeout
12704 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12705 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12706 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12707 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12708 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12714 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12715 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12716 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12720 @node Direct Functions
12721 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12722 @cindex direct connection functions
12724 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12725 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12726 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12727 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12730 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12731 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12732 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12735 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12736 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12737 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12738 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12739 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12742 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12743 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12745 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12746 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12747 (nntp-port-number )
12748 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12751 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12752 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12753 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12754 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12755 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12756 then define a server as follows:
12759 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12760 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12762 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12763 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12764 (nntp-port-number 563)
12765 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12768 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12769 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12770 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12771 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12772 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12773 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12774 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12775 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12779 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12780 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12781 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12784 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12785 session, which is not a good idea.
12789 @node Indirect Functions
12790 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12791 @cindex indirect connection functions
12793 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12794 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12795 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12796 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12797 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12798 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12801 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12802 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12803 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12804 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12805 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12807 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12810 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12811 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12812 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12813 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12815 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12816 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12817 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12818 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12819 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12820 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12821 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12822 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12826 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12827 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12828 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12829 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12831 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12834 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12835 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12836 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12839 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12840 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12841 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12842 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12844 @item nntp-via-user-password
12845 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12846 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12848 @item nntp-via-envuser
12849 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12850 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12851 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12852 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12854 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12855 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12856 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12857 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12864 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12869 @item nntp-via-user-name
12870 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12871 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12873 @item nntp-via-address
12874 @vindex nntp-via-address
12875 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12880 @node Common Variables
12881 @subsubsection Common Variables
12883 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12884 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12889 @item nntp-pre-command
12890 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12891 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12892 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12893 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12894 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12897 @vindex nntp-address
12898 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12900 @item nntp-port-number
12901 @vindex nntp-port-number
12902 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12903 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12904 @acronym{tls}/@acronym{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12905 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12906 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12907 not work with named ports.
12909 @item nntp-end-of-line
12910 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12911 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12912 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12913 using a non native connection function.
12915 @item nntp-telnet-command
12916 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12917 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12918 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12919 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12922 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12923 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12924 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12931 @subsection News Spool
12935 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12936 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12937 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12940 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12941 anything else) as the address.
12943 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12944 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12945 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12946 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12950 @item nnspool-inews-program
12951 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12952 Program used to post an article.
12954 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12955 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12956 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12958 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12959 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12960 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12961 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12963 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12964 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12965 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
12966 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12968 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12969 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12970 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12972 @item nnspool-active-file
12973 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12974 The name of the active file.
12976 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12977 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12978 The name of the group descriptions file.
12980 @item nnspool-history-file
12981 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12982 The name of the news history file.
12984 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12985 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12986 The name of the active date file.
12988 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12989 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12990 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12993 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12994 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12996 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12997 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12998 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13005 @section Getting Mail
13006 @cindex reading mail
13009 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13013 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13014 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13015 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13016 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13017 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13018 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13019 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13020 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13021 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13022 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13023 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13024 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13025 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13029 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13030 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13032 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13033 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13034 of a culture shock.
13036 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13037 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13039 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13040 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13041 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13042 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13044 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13046 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13047 deleted? How awful!
13049 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13050 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13051 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13052 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13055 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13056 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13057 they want to treat a message.
13059 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13060 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13061 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13062 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13063 archived somewhere else.
13065 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13066 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13067 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13068 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13069 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13071 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13072 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13073 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13075 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13076 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13079 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13080 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13081 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13082 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13083 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13085 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13086 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13087 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13088 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13089 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13090 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13094 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13095 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13097 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13098 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13099 and things will happen automatically.
13101 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13102 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13105 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13108 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13109 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13110 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13111 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13112 like any other group.
13114 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13117 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13118 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13119 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13123 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13124 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13125 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13128 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13129 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13130 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13133 @node Splitting Mail
13134 @subsection Splitting Mail
13135 @cindex splitting mail
13136 @cindex mail splitting
13137 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13139 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13140 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13141 to be split into groups.
13144 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13145 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13146 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13147 ("mail.other" "")))
13150 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13151 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13152 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13153 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13154 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13155 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13156 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13159 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13162 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13163 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13164 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13165 mail belongs in that group.
13167 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13168 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13169 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13170 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13171 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13172 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13174 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13175 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13176 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13177 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13178 thinks should carry this mail message.
13180 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13181 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13182 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13183 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13185 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13186 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13187 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13188 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13189 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13191 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13194 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13195 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13196 links. If that's the case for you, set
13197 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13198 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13200 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13201 @findex nnmail-split-history
13202 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13203 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13204 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13205 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13208 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13209 Header lines longer than the value of
13210 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13213 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13214 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13215 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13216 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13217 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13218 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13219 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13220 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13222 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13223 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13224 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13225 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13226 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13227 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13228 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13229 other kinds of entries.)
13231 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13232 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13233 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13234 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13235 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13236 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13237 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13238 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13239 month's rent money.
13243 @subsection Mail Sources
13245 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13246 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13247 maildir, for instance.
13250 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13251 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13252 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13256 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13257 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13259 @cindex mail server
13262 @cindex mail source
13264 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13265 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13270 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13273 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13274 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13275 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13278 The following mail source types are available:
13282 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13288 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13289 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13290 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13294 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13297 An example file mail source:
13300 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13303 Or using the default file name:
13309 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13310 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13311 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13312 mail spool while moving the mail.
13314 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13318 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13321 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13325 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13328 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13330 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13333 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13337 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13338 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13339 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13340 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13341 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13342 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13343 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13344 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13345 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13346 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13348 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13349 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13350 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13351 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13357 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13361 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13365 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13366 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13367 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13368 predicate are considered.
13372 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13376 An example directory mail source:
13379 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13384 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13390 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13391 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13394 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13395 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13396 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13397 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13398 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13401 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13405 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13406 the user is prompted.
13409 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13410 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13413 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13416 The valid format specifier characters are:
13420 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13421 included in this string.
13424 The name of the server.
13427 The port number of the server.
13430 The user name to use.
13433 The password to use.
13436 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13437 corresponding keywords.
13440 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13441 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13444 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13445 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13448 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13449 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13450 mail should be moved to.
13452 @item :authentication
13453 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13454 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13459 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13460 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13462 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13463 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13469 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13472 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13473 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13476 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13479 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13483 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13484 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13485 contains exactly one mail.
13491 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13492 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13495 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13496 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13498 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13499 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13500 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13503 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13504 from locking problems).
13508 Two example maildir mail sources:
13511 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13512 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13516 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13521 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13522 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13523 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13524 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13525 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13527 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13528 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13534 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13535 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13538 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13539 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13542 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13546 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13550 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13551 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13552 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13553 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13555 @item :authentication
13556 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13557 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13558 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13559 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13562 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13563 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13564 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13570 The valid format specifier characters are:
13574 The name of the server.
13577 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13580 The port number of the server.
13583 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13584 corresponding keywords.
13587 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13588 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13591 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13592 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13593 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13594 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13595 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13596 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13599 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13600 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13601 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13602 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13605 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13606 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13610 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13613 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13615 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13619 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13620 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13621 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13623 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13624 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13626 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13632 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13633 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13636 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13640 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13644 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13645 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13649 An example webmail source:
13652 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13654 :password "secret")
13659 @item Common Keywords
13660 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13666 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13667 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13672 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13677 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13678 useful when you use local mail and news.
13683 @subsubsection Function Interface
13685 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13686 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13687 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13688 consider the following mail-source setting:
13691 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13692 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13695 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13696 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13697 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13698 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13699 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13701 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13704 @node Mail Source Customization
13705 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13707 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13708 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13712 @item mail-source-crash-box
13713 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13714 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13715 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13717 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13718 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13719 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13720 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13721 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13722 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13723 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13724 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13726 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13727 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13728 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13729 files. This variable only applies when
13730 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13732 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13733 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13734 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13736 @item mail-source-directory
13737 @vindex mail-source-directory
13738 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13739 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13740 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13743 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13744 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13745 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13746 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13747 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13748 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13750 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13751 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13752 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13754 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13755 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13756 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13757 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13762 @node Fetching Mail
13763 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13765 @vindex mail-sources
13766 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13767 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13768 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13769 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13771 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13772 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13775 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13776 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13781 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13782 :password "secret")))
13785 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13789 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13790 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13793 :password "secret")))
13797 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13798 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13799 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13800 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13801 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13802 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13806 @node Mail Back End Variables
13807 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13809 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13813 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13814 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13815 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13816 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13818 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13819 @item nnmail-split-hook
13820 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13821 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
13822 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
13823 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13824 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13825 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13826 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13827 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13828 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13831 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13832 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13833 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13834 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13835 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13836 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13837 starting to handle the new mail) and
13838 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13839 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13840 default file modes the new mail files get:
13843 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13844 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13846 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13847 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13850 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13851 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13852 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13853 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13854 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13855 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13856 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13858 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13859 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13860 @findex delete-file
13861 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13863 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13864 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13865 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13866 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13867 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13869 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13870 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13871 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13872 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13873 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13875 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13876 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13877 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13882 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13883 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13884 @cindex mail splitting
13885 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13887 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13888 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13889 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13890 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13891 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13892 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13894 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13897 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13898 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13899 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13900 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13902 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13903 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13904 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13905 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13906 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13907 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13908 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13909 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13910 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13911 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13912 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13913 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13914 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13915 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13916 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13917 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13918 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13922 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
13923 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
13924 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
13929 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
13930 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
13932 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
13933 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
13934 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
13935 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
13936 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
13937 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
13938 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13940 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
13941 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
13942 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
13943 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
13944 stored in one or more groups.
13946 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
13947 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
13948 process all @var{split}s in the list.
13951 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
13952 this message. Use with extreme caution.
13954 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
13955 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
13956 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
13957 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
13960 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13961 body of the messages:
13964 (defun split-on-body ()
13968 (goto-char (point-min))
13969 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13973 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
13974 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
13975 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
13976 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
13977 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
13978 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to t to do that (@pxref{Splitting in
13981 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
13982 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
13983 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
13984 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
13985 should return a split.
13988 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13992 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13993 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13994 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13995 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13996 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13998 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13999 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14000 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14001 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14002 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14003 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14004 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14008 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14010 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14011 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14013 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14016 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14017 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14018 when all this splitting is performed.
14020 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14021 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14022 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14025 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14028 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14029 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14031 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14032 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14033 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14034 groupings 1 through 9.
14036 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14037 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14038 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14040 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14041 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14042 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14043 surrounded by anything.
14046 (any "joe" "joemail")
14049 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14050 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14051 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to t, however, the
14052 match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word boundary is
14053 removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14055 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14056 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14057 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14058 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14059 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14060 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14061 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14062 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14063 it once per thread.
14065 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14066 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14067 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14068 using the colon feature, like so:
14070 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14071 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14073 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14074 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14078 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14079 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14080 in the file specified by the variable
14081 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14082 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14083 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14084 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14085 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14086 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14087 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14088 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14089 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14090 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14091 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14092 300 kBytes in size.)
14093 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14094 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14095 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14096 messages goes into the new group.
14098 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14099 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14100 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14101 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14102 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14103 ``outgoing'' group.
14106 @node Group Mail Splitting
14107 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14108 @cindex mail splitting
14109 @cindex group mail splitting
14111 @findex gnus-group-split
14112 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14113 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14114 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14115 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14116 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14117 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14118 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14119 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14121 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14122 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14123 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14124 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14126 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14127 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14128 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14129 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14130 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14131 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14132 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14134 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14135 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14136 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14137 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14138 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14139 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14140 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14142 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14143 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14144 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14145 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14146 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14147 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14148 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14149 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14150 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14151 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14152 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14153 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14154 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14156 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14161 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14162 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14164 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14165 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14166 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14167 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14169 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14172 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14173 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14174 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14177 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14178 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14179 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14183 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14184 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14185 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14189 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14192 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14193 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14194 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14195 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14196 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14197 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14198 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14199 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14200 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14202 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14203 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14204 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14205 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14206 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14207 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14208 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14209 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14210 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14212 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14213 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14214 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14215 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14216 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14217 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14220 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14223 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14224 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14225 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14226 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14227 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14230 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14231 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14232 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14233 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14235 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14236 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14237 @cindex incorporating old mail
14238 @cindex import old mail
14240 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14241 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14242 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14245 Doing so can be quite easy.
14247 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14248 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14249 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14250 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14251 your @code{nnml} groups.
14257 Go to the group buffer.
14260 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14261 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14264 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14267 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14268 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14271 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14272 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14275 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14276 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14277 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14278 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14279 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14281 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14282 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14283 using the new mail back end.
14286 @node Expiring Mail
14287 @subsection Expiring Mail
14288 @cindex article expiry
14290 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14291 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14292 different approach to mail reading.
14294 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14295 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14296 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14297 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14298 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14299 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14302 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14303 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14304 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14305 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14306 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14307 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14308 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14309 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14310 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14312 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14313 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14314 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14315 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14316 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14317 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14318 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14321 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14322 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14323 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14324 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14325 into its own group.)
14327 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14328 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14329 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14330 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14331 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14332 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14333 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14334 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14337 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14338 Groups that match the regular expression
14339 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14340 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14341 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14343 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14344 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14345 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14346 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14347 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14349 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14351 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14352 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14353 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14356 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14357 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14358 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14359 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14360 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14362 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14363 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14366 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14367 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14370 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14371 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14373 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14374 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14375 don't really mix very well.
14377 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14378 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14379 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14380 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14383 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14384 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14385 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14386 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14389 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14391 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14393 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14395 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14397 ((string= group "important")
14403 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14404 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14406 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14407 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14408 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14411 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14412 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14414 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14415 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14416 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14417 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14418 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14419 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14420 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14421 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14422 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14423 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14424 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14425 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14426 name or @code{delete}.
14428 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14430 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14433 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14434 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14435 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14436 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14437 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14440 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14441 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14442 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14443 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14444 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14447 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14448 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14449 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14450 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14451 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14452 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14454 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14455 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14456 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14457 easier for procmail users.
14459 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14460 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14461 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14462 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14463 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14464 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14465 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14466 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14467 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14468 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14469 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14470 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14471 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14474 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14476 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14477 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14478 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14479 auto-expire turned on.
14483 @subsection Washing Mail
14484 @cindex mail washing
14485 @cindex list server brain damage
14486 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14488 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14489 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14490 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14491 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14492 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14493 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14495 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14496 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14497 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14500 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14501 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14502 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14503 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14506 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14507 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14508 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14509 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14510 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14513 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14514 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14515 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14516 Emacs running on MS machines.
14520 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14521 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14522 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14523 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14526 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14527 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14528 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14529 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14531 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14532 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14533 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14534 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14535 into a feature by documenting it.)
14537 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14538 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14539 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14540 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14541 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14542 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14543 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14546 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14547 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14550 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14551 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14554 This can also be done non-destructively with
14555 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14557 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14558 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14559 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14561 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14562 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14564 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14565 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14566 @code{References} headers.
14570 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14571 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14572 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14576 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14577 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14578 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14585 @subsection Duplicates
14587 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14588 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14589 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14590 @cindex duplicate mails
14591 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14592 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14593 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14594 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14595 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14596 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14597 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14598 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14599 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14600 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14601 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14602 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14603 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14605 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14606 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14607 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14608 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14610 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14613 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14614 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14618 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14619 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14620 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14621 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14622 (any mail "mail.misc")
14623 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14629 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14630 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14631 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14635 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14636 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14637 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14638 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14639 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14642 @node Not Reading Mail
14643 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14645 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14646 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14647 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14649 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14650 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14651 mail, which should help.
14653 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14654 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14655 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14656 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14657 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14658 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14659 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14660 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14661 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14662 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14663 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14665 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14666 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14670 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14671 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14673 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14674 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14675 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14677 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14678 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14679 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14683 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14684 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14685 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14686 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14687 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14688 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14689 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14693 @node Unix Mail Box
14694 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14696 @cindex unix mail box
14698 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14699 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14700 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14701 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14702 which group it belongs in.
14704 Virtual server settings:
14707 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14708 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14709 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14712 @item nnmbox-active-file
14713 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14714 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14715 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14717 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14718 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14719 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14720 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14725 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14729 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14730 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14731 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14732 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14733 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14735 Virtual server settings:
14738 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14739 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14740 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14742 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14743 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14744 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14745 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14747 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14748 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14749 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14755 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14757 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14759 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14760 format. It should be used with some caution.
14762 @vindex nnml-directory
14763 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14764 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14765 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14766 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14768 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14771 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14772 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14773 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14774 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14775 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14776 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14777 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14778 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14780 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14781 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14782 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14783 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14785 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14787 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14788 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14789 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14790 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14791 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14792 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14793 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14794 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14797 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14798 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14799 them next time it starts.
14801 Virtual server settings:
14804 @item nnml-directory
14805 @vindex nnml-directory
14806 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14807 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14810 @item nnml-active-file
14811 @vindex nnml-active-file
14812 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14813 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14815 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14816 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14817 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14818 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14820 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14821 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14822 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14825 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14826 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14827 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14828 default is @code{nil}.
14830 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14831 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14832 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14834 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14835 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14836 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14838 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14839 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14840 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14841 default is @code{nil}.
14843 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14844 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14845 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14847 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14848 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14849 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14854 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14855 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
14856 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14857 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14858 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14859 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14860 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14865 @subsubsection MH Spool
14867 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14869 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14870 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
14871 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
14872 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
14875 Virtual server settings:
14878 @item nnmh-directory
14879 @vindex nnmh-directory
14880 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14881 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14884 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14885 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14886 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14890 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14891 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14892 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
14893 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14894 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14895 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
14896 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14901 @subsubsection Maildir
14905 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14906 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14907 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14908 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
14909 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
14912 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14913 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
14914 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14915 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14916 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
14917 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
14918 that appear as group in Gnus.
14920 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
14921 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
14922 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
14924 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
14925 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
14926 another, and you will keep your marks.
14928 Virtual server settings:
14932 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
14933 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
14934 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
14935 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
14936 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
14937 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
14938 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
14939 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
14940 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
14941 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
14943 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14944 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14945 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14946 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14947 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14948 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14949 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14950 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14951 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14952 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
14955 @item target-prefix
14956 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14957 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14958 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14961 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
14962 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14963 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14964 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14965 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14966 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
14967 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14968 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14969 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14971 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14972 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14973 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14974 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14975 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14977 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14978 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14979 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14980 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14981 @code{force} argument.
14983 @item directory-files
14984 This should be a function with the same interface as
14985 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14986 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14987 parameter is optional; the default is
14988 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14989 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14990 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14991 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14992 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14993 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14996 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14997 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14998 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14999 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15000 value is @code{nil}.
15002 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15003 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15004 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15005 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15006 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15009 @subsubsection Group parameters
15011 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15012 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15013 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15014 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15015 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15016 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15019 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15020 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15021 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15022 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15023 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15024 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15025 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15026 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15027 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15031 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15032 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15033 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15034 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15035 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
15036 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
15037 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15038 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15039 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15040 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15041 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15042 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15045 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15047 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15049 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15050 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15051 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15052 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15053 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15054 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15055 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15056 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15057 article. So that form can refer to
15058 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15059 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir} does
15060 not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15061 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15064 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15065 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15066 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15067 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15068 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15069 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15070 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15071 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15072 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15073 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15074 contain extra copies of the articles.
15076 @item directory-files
15077 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15078 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15079 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15080 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15082 @item distrust-Lines:
15083 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15084 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15085 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15088 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15089 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15090 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15091 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15092 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15093 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15096 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15097 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15098 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15099 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15100 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15101 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15102 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15104 @item nov-cache-size
15105 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15106 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15107 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15108 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15109 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15110 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15111 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15112 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15113 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15114 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15115 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15118 @subsubsection Article identification
15119 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15120 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15121 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15122 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15123 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15124 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15125 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15126 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15127 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15128 request the article in the summary buffer.
15130 @subsubsection NOV data
15131 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15132 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15133 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15134 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15135 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15136 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15137 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15138 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15139 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15140 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15141 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15143 @subsubsection Article marks
15144 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15145 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15146 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15147 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15148 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15149 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15150 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15151 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15153 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15154 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15155 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15156 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15157 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15158 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15159 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15160 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15161 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15165 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15167 @cindex mbox folders
15168 @cindex mail folders
15170 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15171 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15172 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15173 numbers and arrival dates.
15175 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15177 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15178 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15179 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15180 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15181 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15182 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15183 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15184 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15185 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15186 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15188 Virtual server settings:
15191 @item nnfolder-directory
15192 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15193 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15194 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15195 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15197 @item nnfolder-active-file
15198 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15199 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15201 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15202 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15203 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15204 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15206 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15207 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15208 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15209 default is @code{t}
15211 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15212 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15213 @cindex backup files
15214 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15215 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15216 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15217 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15220 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15221 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15223 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15226 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15227 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15228 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15229 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15230 extract some information from it before removing it.
15232 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15233 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15234 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15235 default is @code{nil}.
15237 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15238 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15239 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15241 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15242 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15243 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15244 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15246 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15247 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15248 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15249 default is @code{nil}.
15251 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15252 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15253 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15255 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15256 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15257 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15258 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15263 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15264 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15265 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15266 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15267 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15268 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15271 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15272 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15274 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15275 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15276 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15277 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15278 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15280 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15281 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15282 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15283 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15284 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15285 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15286 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15287 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15290 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15291 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15292 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15293 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15298 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15299 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15300 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15301 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15302 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15303 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15304 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15305 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15306 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15307 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15308 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15309 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15310 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15315 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15316 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15317 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15318 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15319 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15320 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15321 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15322 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15323 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15324 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15325 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15326 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15327 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15328 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15330 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15331 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15336 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15337 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15338 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15339 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15340 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15341 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15342 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15343 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15344 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15345 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15346 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15347 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15348 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15349 provided by the active file and overviews.
15351 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15352 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15353 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15354 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15355 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15358 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15359 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15364 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15365 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15366 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15367 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15368 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15369 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15370 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15374 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15375 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15376 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15377 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15378 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15379 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15380 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15381 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15382 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15384 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15385 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15386 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15387 friendly mail back end all over.
15391 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15392 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15395 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15396 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15397 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15398 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15399 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15400 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15401 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15402 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15405 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15406 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15407 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15408 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15409 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15410 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15411 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15412 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15413 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15414 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15415 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15417 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15418 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15419 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15420 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15421 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15424 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15425 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15426 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15427 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15428 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15429 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15430 removed in the future.
15432 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15433 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15434 on your file system.
15436 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15437 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15442 @node Browsing the Web
15443 @section Browsing the Web
15445 @cindex browsing the web
15449 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15450 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15451 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15452 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15453 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15454 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15455 even know what a news group is.
15457 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15458 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15459 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15460 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15461 you mad in the end.
15463 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15466 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15467 interfaces to these sources.
15471 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15472 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15473 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15474 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15475 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15476 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15479 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15481 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15482 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15483 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15484 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15485 though, you should be ok.
15487 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15488 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15489 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15490 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15491 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15493 @node Archiving Mail
15494 @subsection Archiving Mail
15495 @cindex archiving mail
15496 @cindex backup of mail
15498 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15499 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15500 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15501 marks is fairly simple.
15503 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15504 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15507 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15508 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15509 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15510 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15511 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15512 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15513 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15514 before you restore the data.
15516 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15517 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15518 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15519 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15520 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15521 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15522 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15523 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15524 is unnecessary in that case.
15527 @subsection Web Searches
15532 @cindex Usenet searches
15533 @cindex searching the Usenet
15535 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15536 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15537 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15538 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15539 searches without having to use a browser.
15541 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15542 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15543 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15544 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15545 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15547 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15548 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15549 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15550 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15551 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15552 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15553 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15554 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15555 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15556 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15559 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15560 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15561 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15562 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15563 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15564 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15566 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15567 to use @code{nnweb}.
15569 Virtual server variables:
15574 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15575 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15576 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15579 @vindex nnweb-search
15580 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15582 @item nnweb-max-hits
15583 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15584 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15587 @item nnweb-type-definition
15588 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15589 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15590 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15595 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15599 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15602 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15605 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15609 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15616 @subsection Slashdot
15620 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15621 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15622 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15624 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15625 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15628 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15629 '((nnslashdot "")))
15632 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15633 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15634 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15635 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15636 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15639 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15640 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15642 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15643 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15644 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15645 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15646 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15647 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15648 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15650 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15653 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15654 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15655 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15656 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15657 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15658 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15659 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15661 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15662 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15663 The login name to use when posting.
15665 @item nnslashdot-password
15666 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15667 The password to use when posting.
15669 @item nnslashdot-directory
15670 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15671 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15672 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15674 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15675 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15676 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
15677 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
15678 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15680 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15681 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15682 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
15684 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15685 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15686 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
15687 article. The default is
15688 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15690 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15691 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15692 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15694 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15695 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15696 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15697 updated. The default is 0.
15704 @subsection Ultimate
15706 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15708 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15709 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15710 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15711 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15713 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15714 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15715 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
15716 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15717 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15718 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15719 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15721 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15724 @item nnultimate-directory
15725 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15726 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15727 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15732 @subsection Web Archive
15734 @cindex Web Archive
15736 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15737 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15738 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15739 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15742 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15743 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15744 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15745 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15746 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15747 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15748 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15749 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15751 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15754 @item nnwarchive-directory
15755 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15756 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15757 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15759 @item nnwarchive-login
15760 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15761 The account name on the web server.
15763 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15764 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15765 The password for your account on the web server.
15773 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
15774 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
15775 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
15776 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
15777 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
15779 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
15780 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15782 @kindex G R (Summary)
15783 Use @kbd{G R} from the summary buffer to subscribe to a feed---you
15784 will be prompted for the location of the feed.
15786 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
15787 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET y}, then
15788 subscribe to groups.
15790 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15793 @item nnrss-directory
15794 @vindex nnrss-directory
15795 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15796 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15798 @item nnrss-use-local
15799 @vindex nnrss-use-local
15800 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
15801 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
15802 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
15803 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
15804 download script using @command{wget}.
15807 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15808 the summary buffer.
15811 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15812 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15814 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15816 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15817 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15820 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15823 (require 'browse-url)
15825 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15827 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15830 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15831 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15834 (browse-url (cdr url))
15835 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15836 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15838 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15839 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15840 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15841 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15844 @node Customizing w3
15845 @subsection Customizing w3
15851 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15852 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15853 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15855 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15856 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15857 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15860 (eval-after-load "w3"
15862 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15863 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15864 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15865 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15867 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15870 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15871 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15878 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15880 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15881 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15882 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15883 specify the network address of the server.
15885 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15886 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15887 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15888 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15889 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15890 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15892 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15893 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15894 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15895 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15897 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15898 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15899 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15900 usage explained in this section.
15902 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
15903 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
15904 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
15908 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15909 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15910 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15912 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15913 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15914 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15916 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15917 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15918 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15919 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15920 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15921 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15922 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15923 (nnimap-stream network))
15924 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15926 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15927 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15928 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15931 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15932 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15933 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15934 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15936 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15941 @item nnimap-address
15942 @vindex nnimap-address
15944 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15945 server name if not specified.
15947 @item nnimap-server-port
15948 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15949 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15951 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15954 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15955 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15958 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15959 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15960 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15961 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15962 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15963 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15964 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15966 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15967 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15968 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15971 Example server specification:
15974 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15975 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15976 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15979 @item nnimap-stream
15980 @vindex nnimap-stream
15981 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15982 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15983 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
15984 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
15985 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15987 Example server specification:
15990 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15991 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15994 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15998 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15999 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16001 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16003 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16004 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16007 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16008 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16010 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16011 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16013 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16015 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16018 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16019 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16020 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16021 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16022 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16023 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16024 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16025 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16026 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16029 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16030 needed. It is available from
16031 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16033 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16034 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16035 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16036 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16037 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16038 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16039 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16042 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16043 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16044 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16045 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16046 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16047 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16048 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16051 @vindex imap-shell-program
16052 @vindex imap-shell-host
16053 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16054 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16056 @item nnimap-authenticator
16057 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16059 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16060 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16062 Example server specification:
16065 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16066 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16069 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16073 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16074 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16076 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16079 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16080 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16082 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16084 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16086 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16089 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16091 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16092 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16093 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16094 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16095 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16096 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16099 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16100 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16101 running in circles yet?
16103 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16104 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16107 The possible options are:
16112 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16115 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16116 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16117 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16118 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16120 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16125 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16126 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16128 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16129 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16130 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16131 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16132 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16135 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16136 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16139 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16140 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16141 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16142 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16145 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16146 as ticked for other users.
16148 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16150 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16152 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16153 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16154 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16155 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16157 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16158 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16159 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16160 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16162 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16163 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16165 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16166 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16167 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16170 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16171 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16173 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16174 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16180 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16181 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16182 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16183 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16184 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16185 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16190 @node Splitting in IMAP
16191 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16192 @cindex splitting imap mail
16194 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16195 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16196 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16197 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16198 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16202 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16203 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16204 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16206 Here are the variables of interest:
16210 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16211 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16213 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16215 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16216 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16217 found will be used.
16219 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16221 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16222 @cindex splitting, inbox
16224 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16226 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16227 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16228 splitting is disabled!
16231 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16232 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16235 No nnmail equivalent.
16237 @item nnimap-split-rule
16238 @cindex splitting, rules
16239 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16241 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16244 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16245 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16246 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16247 Neither did I, we need examples.
16250 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16252 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16253 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16254 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16257 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16258 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16259 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16261 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16262 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16266 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16269 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16270 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16272 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16273 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16274 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16275 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16277 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16278 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16279 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16280 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16281 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16282 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16284 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16285 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16286 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16288 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16289 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16290 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16292 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16294 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16295 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16296 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16299 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16300 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16301 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16302 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16303 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16304 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16307 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16308 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16309 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16310 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16311 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16312 group/function elements.
16314 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16316 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16318 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16320 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16321 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16323 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16324 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16325 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16328 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16329 @cindex splitting, fancy
16330 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16331 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16333 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16334 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16335 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16337 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16338 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16339 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16340 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16345 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16346 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16349 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16351 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16352 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16353 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16355 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16356 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16357 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16358 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16362 @node Expiring in IMAP
16363 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16364 @cindex expiring imap mail
16366 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16367 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16368 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16369 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16370 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16371 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16374 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16375 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16376 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16377 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16378 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16379 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16380 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16381 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16385 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16386 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16388 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16389 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16391 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16393 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16394 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16395 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16396 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16400 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16401 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16402 @cindex editing imap acls
16403 @cindex Access Control Lists
16404 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16405 @kindex G l (Group)
16406 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16408 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16409 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16410 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16413 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16414 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16415 editing window with detailed instructions.
16417 Some possible uses:
16421 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16422 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16423 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16425 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16426 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16427 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16431 @node Expunging mailboxes
16432 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16436 @cindex manual expunging
16437 @kindex G x (Group)
16438 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16440 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16441 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16442 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16444 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16447 @node A note on namespaces
16448 @subsection A note on namespaces
16449 @cindex IMAP namespace
16452 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16453 by the following text in the RFC:
16456 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16458 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16459 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16460 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16461 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16463 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16464 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16465 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16466 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16467 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16468 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16471 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16472 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16473 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16475 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16476 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16477 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16478 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16479 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16480 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16481 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16482 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16485 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16486 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16487 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16489 @node Debugging IMAP
16490 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16491 @cindex IMAP debugging
16492 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16494 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16495 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16496 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behaviour, chances
16497 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16499 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16500 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16501 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16502 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16503 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16504 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16505 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16509 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16510 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16517 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16518 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16519 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16520 @code{BAD} - but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16523 @node Other Sources
16524 @section Other Sources
16526 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16527 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16531 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16532 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16533 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16534 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16535 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16539 @node Directory Groups
16540 @subsection Directory Groups
16542 @cindex directory groups
16544 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16545 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16548 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16549 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16550 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16551 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16553 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16554 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16555 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16556 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16557 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16559 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16561 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16562 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16563 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16564 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16567 @node Anything Groups
16568 @subsection Anything Groups
16571 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16572 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16573 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16576 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16577 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16578 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16579 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16580 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16581 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16582 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16583 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16584 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16585 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16588 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16589 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16590 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16591 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16593 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16594 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16595 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16596 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16598 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16599 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16600 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16601 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16602 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16603 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16604 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16605 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16610 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16611 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16612 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16613 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16615 @item nneething-exclude-files
16616 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16617 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16618 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16620 @item nneething-include-files
16621 @vindex nneething-include-files
16622 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16623 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16625 @item nneething-map-file
16626 @vindex nneething-map-file
16627 Name of the map files.
16631 @node Document Groups
16632 @subsection Document Groups
16634 @cindex documentation group
16637 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16638 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16645 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16650 The standard Unix mbox file.
16652 @cindex MMDF mail box
16654 The MMDF mail box format.
16657 Several news articles appended into a file.
16660 @cindex rnews batch files
16661 The rnews batch transport format.
16662 @cindex forwarded messages
16665 Forwarded articles.
16668 Netscape mail boxes.
16671 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16673 @item standard-digest
16674 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16677 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16679 @item lanl-gov-announce
16680 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16682 @item rfc822-forward
16683 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16686 The Outlook mail box.
16689 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16692 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16695 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16698 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16704 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16707 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16713 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16714 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16715 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16718 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16719 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16720 group. And that's it.
16722 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16723 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16724 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16725 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16726 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16727 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16728 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16729 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16730 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16731 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16733 Virtual server variables:
16736 @item nndoc-article-type
16737 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16738 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16739 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16740 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16741 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16742 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16744 @item nndoc-post-type
16745 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16746 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16747 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16752 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16756 @node Document Server Internals
16757 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16759 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16760 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16761 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16762 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16764 First, here's an example document type definition:
16768 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16769 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16772 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16773 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16774 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16775 types can be defined with very few settings:
16778 @item first-article
16779 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16780 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16783 @item article-begin
16784 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16785 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16787 @item head-begin-function
16788 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16791 @item nndoc-head-begin
16792 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16795 @item nndoc-head-end
16796 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16797 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16799 @item body-begin-function
16800 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16804 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16807 @item body-end-function
16808 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16812 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16815 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16816 regexp will be totally ignored.
16820 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16821 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16822 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16823 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16824 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16827 @item prepare-body-function
16828 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16829 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16830 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16832 @item article-transform-function
16833 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16834 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16835 body of the article.
16837 @item generate-head-function
16838 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16839 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16840 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16841 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16845 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16850 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16851 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16852 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16853 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16854 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16855 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16856 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16857 (subtype digest guess))
16860 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16861 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16862 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16863 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16864 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16866 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16867 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16868 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16869 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16870 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16871 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16872 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16873 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16874 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16875 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16876 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16877 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16885 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16886 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16887 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16889 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16890 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16891 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16894 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16895 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16896 that interested in doing things properly.
16898 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16899 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16902 First some terminology:
16907 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16908 get news and/or mail from.
16911 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16912 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16915 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16919 @item message packets
16920 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16921 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16922 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16924 @item response packets
16925 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16926 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16927 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16937 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16938 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16939 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16940 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16943 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16946 You put the packet in your home directory.
16949 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16950 the native or secondary server.
16953 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16954 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16957 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16961 You transfer this packet to the server.
16964 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16967 You then repeat until you die.
16971 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16972 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16975 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16976 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16977 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16981 @node SOUP Commands
16982 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16984 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16988 @kindex G s b (Group)
16989 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16990 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16991 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16992 process/prefix convention.
16995 @kindex G s w (Group)
16996 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16997 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17000 @kindex G s s (Group)
17001 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17002 Send all replies from the replies packet
17003 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17006 @kindex G s p (Group)
17007 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17008 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17011 @kindex G s r (Group)
17012 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17013 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17016 @kindex O s (Summary)
17017 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17018 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17019 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17020 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17025 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17030 @item gnus-soup-directory
17031 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17032 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17033 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17035 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17036 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17037 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17038 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17040 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17041 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17042 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17043 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17045 @item gnus-soup-packer
17046 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17047 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17048 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17050 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17051 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17052 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17053 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17055 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17056 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17057 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17059 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17060 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17061 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17062 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17068 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17071 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17072 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17073 you can read them at leisure.
17075 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17079 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17080 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17081 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17082 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17084 @item nnsoup-directory
17085 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17086 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17087 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17089 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17090 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17091 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17092 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17094 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17095 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17096 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17097 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17098 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17100 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17101 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17102 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17103 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17105 @item nnsoup-active-file
17106 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17107 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17108 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17109 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17110 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17112 @item nnsoup-packer
17113 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17114 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17115 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17117 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17118 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17119 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17120 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17122 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17123 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17124 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17127 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17128 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17129 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17132 @item nnsoup-always-save
17133 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17134 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17140 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17142 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17143 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17144 more for that to happen.
17146 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17147 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17148 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17151 In specific, this is what it does:
17154 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17155 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17158 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17159 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17160 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17163 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17164 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17165 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17168 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17169 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17170 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17172 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17178 @item nngateway-address
17179 @vindex nngateway-address
17180 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17182 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17183 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17184 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17185 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17186 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17187 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17188 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17191 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17192 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17193 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17196 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17199 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17202 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17205 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17207 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17210 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17211 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17212 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17214 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17216 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17217 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17218 @code{nngateway-address}.
17226 (setq gnus-post-method
17228 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17229 (nngateway-header-transformation
17230 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17233 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17236 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17241 @node Combined Groups
17242 @section Combined Groups
17244 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17248 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17249 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17253 @node Virtual Groups
17254 @subsection Virtual Groups
17256 @cindex virtual groups
17257 @cindex merging groups
17259 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17262 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17263 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17264 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17266 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17267 regexp to match component groups.
17269 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17270 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17271 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17272 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17273 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17274 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17275 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17276 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17278 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17279 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17282 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17285 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17286 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17288 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17289 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17290 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17291 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17294 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17297 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17298 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17299 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17301 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17302 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17303 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17304 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17305 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17307 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17308 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17309 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17311 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17312 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17313 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17314 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17315 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17316 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17317 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17318 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17319 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17320 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17321 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17323 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17324 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17325 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17326 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17327 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17328 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17329 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17331 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17332 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17334 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17335 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17339 @node Kibozed Groups
17340 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17344 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17345 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17346 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17347 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17349 @kindex G k (Group)
17350 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17353 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17354 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17355 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17356 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17358 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17359 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17360 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17362 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17363 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17364 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17365 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17366 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17367 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17368 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17369 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17371 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17372 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17373 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17374 Stranger things have happened.
17376 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17377 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17379 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17380 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17381 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17382 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17383 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17384 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17385 component articles.
17387 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17388 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17391 @node Gnus Unplugged
17392 @section Gnus Unplugged
17397 @cindex Gnus unplugged
17399 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17400 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17401 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17402 read news. Believe it or not.
17404 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17405 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17406 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17407 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17408 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17410 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17411 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17412 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17413 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17414 reading news on a machine.
17416 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17417 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17419 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17422 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17423 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17424 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17425 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
17426 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17427 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17428 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17429 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17430 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17431 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17432 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17433 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17434 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17439 @subsection Agent Basics
17441 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17443 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17444 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17445 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17446 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17448 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17449 connected to the net continuously.
17451 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17452 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17454 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
17455 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
17456 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
17457 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
17458 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
17460 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
17461 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
17462 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
17463 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
17464 they're kinda like plugged always).
17466 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
17467 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
17468 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
17471 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
17472 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
17473 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
17474 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
17475 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
17477 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17482 @findex gnus-unplugged
17483 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17484 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17485 already fetched while in this mode.
17488 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17489 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17490 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17491 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
17492 Source Specifiers}).
17495 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
17496 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
17497 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
17498 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
17499 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
17502 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17503 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17504 then you read the news offline.
17507 And then you go to step 2.
17510 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17516 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17517 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17518 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17519 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17520 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17521 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17522 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17523 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17526 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17527 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17528 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17529 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
17531 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17532 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17533 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17534 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17535 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17536 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17540 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17544 @node Agent Categories
17545 @subsection Agent Categories
17547 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17548 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17549 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17550 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17551 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17552 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17553 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17555 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17556 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17557 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17558 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17559 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17561 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17562 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17563 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17564 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17565 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17568 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17569 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17570 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17571 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17572 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17573 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17577 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17578 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17579 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17583 @node Category Syntax
17584 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17586 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17587 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17588 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17591 @cindex Agent Parameters
17593 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17594 The name of the category.
17596 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17597 The list of groups that are in this category.
17599 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17600 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17601 are eligible for downloading; and
17603 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17604 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17605 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17606 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17608 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17609 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17610 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17611 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17612 only groups that should not be expired.
17614 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17615 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17616 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17618 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17619 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17621 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17622 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17624 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17625 an integer that overrides the value of
17626 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17628 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17629 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17631 @item gnus-agent-cat-disable-undownloaded-faces
17632 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should @emph{not} display
17633 undownloaded articles using the gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face
17634 faces. The symbol nil will enable the use of undownloaded faces while
17635 all other symbols disable them.
17638 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17641 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17642 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17643 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17646 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17647 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17648 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17649 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17651 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17652 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17653 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17655 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17656 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17657 operators sprinkled in between.
17659 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17661 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17662 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17668 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17669 short (for some value of ``short'').
17671 Here's a more complex predicate:
17680 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17681 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17684 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17685 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17686 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17688 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17689 you want to do, you can write your own.
17691 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17692 bound to the value determined by calling
17693 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17694 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17695 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17696 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17697 predicate to individual groups.
17701 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17702 lines; default 100.
17705 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17706 lines; default 200.
17709 True iff the article has a download score less than
17710 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17713 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17714 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17717 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17718 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17719 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17728 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17729 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17730 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17733 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17734 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17735 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17736 something along the lines of the following:
17739 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17740 "Say whether an article is old."
17741 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17742 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17745 with the predicate then defined as:
17748 (not my-article-old-p)
17751 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17752 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17756 (require 'gnus-agent)
17757 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17758 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17759 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17762 and simply specify your predicate as:
17768 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17769 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17770 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17771 just don't give a damn.
17773 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17774 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17775 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17776 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
17777 parameters like so:
17780 (agent-predicate . short)
17783 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17784 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17785 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17787 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17790 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17793 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17794 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17795 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17798 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17799 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17800 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17801 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17802 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17803 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17805 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17806 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17807 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17808 if it's to be specific to that group.
17810 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17817 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
17818 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17824 Category specification
17828 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17834 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17837 (agent-score ("from"
17838 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17843 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17849 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17850 keywords stated above.
17856 Category specification
17859 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17865 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17869 Group Parameter specification
17872 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17875 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17880 Use @code{normal} score files
17882 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17883 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17884 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17885 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17887 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17888 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17889 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17890 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17894 Category Specification
17901 Group Parameter specification
17904 (agent-score . file)
17909 @node Category Buffer
17910 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17912 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17913 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17914 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17916 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17920 @kindex q (Category)
17921 @findex gnus-category-exit
17922 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17925 @kindex e (Category)
17926 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17927 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17928 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17931 @kindex k (Category)
17932 @findex gnus-category-kill
17933 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17936 @kindex c (Category)
17937 @findex gnus-category-copy
17938 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17941 @kindex a (Category)
17942 @findex gnus-category-add
17943 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17946 @kindex p (Category)
17947 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17948 Edit the predicate of the current category
17949 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17952 @kindex g (Category)
17953 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17954 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17955 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17958 @kindex s (Category)
17959 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17960 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17961 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17964 @kindex l (Category)
17965 @findex gnus-category-list
17966 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17970 @node Category Variables
17971 @subsubsection Category Variables
17974 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17975 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17976 Hook run in category buffers.
17978 @item gnus-category-line-format
17979 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17980 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17981 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17985 The name of the category.
17988 The number of groups in the category.
17991 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17992 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17993 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17995 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17996 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17997 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17999 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18000 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18001 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18003 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18004 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18005 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18008 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18009 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18010 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18013 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18014 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18015 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18016 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18017 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18018 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18019 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18020 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18024 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18025 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18026 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18027 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18028 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18029 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18030 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18035 @node Agent Commands
18036 @subsection Agent Commands
18037 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18038 @kindex J j (Agent)
18040 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18041 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18042 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18046 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18047 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18048 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18054 @node Group Agent Commands
18055 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18059 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18060 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18061 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18062 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18065 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18066 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18067 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18070 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18071 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18072 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18073 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18076 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18077 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18078 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18079 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18082 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18083 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18084 Add the current group to an Agent category
18085 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18086 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18089 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18090 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18091 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18092 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18093 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18096 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18097 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18098 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18104 @node Summary Agent Commands
18105 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18109 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18110 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18111 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18114 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18115 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18116 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18117 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18121 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18122 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18123 Toggle whether to download the article
18124 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18128 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18129 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18130 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18133 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18134 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18135 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18136 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18139 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18140 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18141 Download all processable articles in this group.
18142 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18145 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18146 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18147 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18148 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18153 @node Server Agent Commands
18154 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18158 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18159 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18160 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18161 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18164 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18165 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18166 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18167 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18172 @node Agent Visuals
18173 @subsection Agent Visuals
18175 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18176 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18177 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18178 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18179 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18180 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18181 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18182 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18183 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18184 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18186 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18187 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18188 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18189 way, "If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18190 less than satisfying unplugged session". For this reason, the Agent
18191 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18192 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18193 articles will be available when unplugged.
18195 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18196 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18197 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18198 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18199 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18200 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18201 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18202 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18204 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18205 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18206 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18207 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18208 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18209 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18210 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18211 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18212 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18214 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18215 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18216 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18217 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18218 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear.
18220 For occasional Agent users, the undownloaded faces may appear to be an
18221 absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since most of their
18222 articles have not been fetched into the Agent, most of the normal
18223 faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces. If this is your
18224 situation, you have two choices available. First, you can completely
18225 disable the undownload faces by customizing
18226 @code{gnus-summary-highlight} to delete the three cons-cells that
18227 refer to the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face} faces. Second, if
18228 you prefer to take a more fine-grained approach, you may set the
18229 @code{agent-disable-undownloaded-faces} group parameter to t. This
18230 parameter, like all other agent parameters, may be set on an Agent
18231 Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}), a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic
18232 Parameters}), or an individual group (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18234 @node Agent as Cache
18235 @subsection Agent as Cache
18237 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18238 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18239 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18240 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18241 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18242 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18243 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18244 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18245 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18247 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18248 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18249 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18250 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18251 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18254 @subsection Agent Expiry
18256 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18257 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18258 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18259 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18260 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18261 @cindex agent expiry
18262 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18265 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18266 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18267 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18268 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18269 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18270 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18271 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18272 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18274 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18275 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18276 synchronized with the group.
18278 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18279 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18281 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18282 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18283 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18284 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18285 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18286 be kept indefinitely.
18288 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18289 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18290 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18291 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18293 @node Agent Regeneration
18294 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18296 @cindex agent regeneration
18297 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18298 @cindex regeneration
18300 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18301 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18302 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18303 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18304 internal inconsistencies.
18306 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18307 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18308 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18309 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18310 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18311 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18313 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18314 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18315 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18316 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18317 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18318 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18320 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18321 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18322 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18323 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18324 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18325 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18328 @node Agent and IMAP
18329 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18331 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18332 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18333 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18334 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18336 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18337 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18338 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18339 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18341 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18342 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18343 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18344 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18346 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18347 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18348 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18349 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18350 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18351 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18353 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18354 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18355 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18356 in the group buffer.
18358 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18359 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18364 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18367 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18371 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18372 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18373 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18374 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
18375 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18376 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18377 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18378 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18381 @node Outgoing Messages
18382 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18384 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18385 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18386 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18388 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18389 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18390 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18391 messages in the draft group.
18395 @node Agent Variables
18396 @subsection Agent Variables
18399 @item gnus-agent-directory
18400 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18401 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18402 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18404 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18405 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18406 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18407 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18408 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18411 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18412 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18413 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18415 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18416 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18417 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18419 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18420 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18421 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18423 @item gnus-agent-cache
18424 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18425 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18426 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18427 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18429 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18430 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18431 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18432 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18433 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18434 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18435 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18438 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18439 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18440 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18441 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18442 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18443 read. The default is t.
18445 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18446 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18447 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18448 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
18449 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
18450 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
18451 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
18452 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
18453 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
18454 over and over again.
18456 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18457 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18458 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18459 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18460 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18461 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18462 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18463 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18464 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18465 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18466 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18467 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18470 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18471 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18472 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18473 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18474 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18475 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18476 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18477 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18478 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18480 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18481 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18482 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
18483 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18484 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18485 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18487 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18488 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18489 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18490 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18491 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18493 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18494 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18495 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
18496 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
18497 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
18498 which backends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
18499 to agentize remote backends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
18500 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
18501 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
18502 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
18503 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
18508 @node Example Setup
18509 @subsection Example Setup
18511 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18512 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18513 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18516 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18517 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18518 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18520 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18521 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18522 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18524 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18525 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18527 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18528 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18529 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18532 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18533 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18536 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18537 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18538 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18539 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18540 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18543 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18544 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18545 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18546 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18547 back all the killed groups.)
18549 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18550 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18551 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18554 @node Batching Agents
18555 @subsection Batching Agents
18556 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18558 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18559 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18560 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18562 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18563 following incantation:
18567 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18571 @node Agent Caveats
18572 @subsection Agent Caveats
18574 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18575 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18579 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18581 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18582 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18583 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18585 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18586 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18588 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18592 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18593 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18594 locally stored articles.
18601 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18602 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18603 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18606 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18607 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18608 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18609 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18610 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18612 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18613 before generating the summary buffer.
18615 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18616 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18617 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18619 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18620 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18621 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18622 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18625 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18626 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18627 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18628 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18629 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18630 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18631 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18632 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18633 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18634 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18635 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18636 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18637 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18638 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18639 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18640 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18641 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18645 @node Summary Score Commands
18646 @section Summary Score Commands
18647 @cindex score commands
18649 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18650 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18651 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18652 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18653 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18655 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18656 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18657 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18658 score file the current one.
18660 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18665 @kindex V s (Summary)
18666 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18667 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18670 @kindex V S (Summary)
18671 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18672 Display the score of the current article
18673 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18676 @kindex V t (Summary)
18677 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18678 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18679 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18680 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
18681 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
18682 score file and edit it.
18685 @kindex V w (Summary)
18686 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18687 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18690 @kindex V R (Summary)
18691 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18692 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18693 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18694 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18695 effect you're having.
18698 @kindex V c (Summary)
18699 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18700 Make a different score file the current
18701 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18704 @kindex V e (Summary)
18705 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18706 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18707 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18711 @kindex V f (Summary)
18712 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18713 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18714 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18717 @kindex V F (Summary)
18718 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18719 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18720 after editing score files.
18723 @kindex V C (Summary)
18724 @findex gnus-score-customize
18725 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18726 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18730 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18735 @kindex V m (Summary)
18736 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18737 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18738 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18741 @kindex V x (Summary)
18742 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18743 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18744 expunge all articles below this score
18745 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18748 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18749 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18752 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18753 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18757 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18758 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18760 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18761 keys are available:
18765 Score on the author name.
18768 Score on the subject line.
18771 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18774 Score on the @code{References} line.
18780 Score on the number of lines.
18783 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18786 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18787 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18790 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18791 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18792 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18801 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18807 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18808 what headers you are scoring on.
18820 Substring matching.
18823 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18852 Greater than number.
18857 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18858 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18859 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18864 Temporary score entry.
18867 Permanent score entry.
18870 Immediately scoring.
18874 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18875 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18876 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18880 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18881 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18882 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18883 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18885 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18886 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18887 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18888 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18889 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18891 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18892 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18893 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18894 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18895 current score file.
18897 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18898 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18899 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18902 @node Group Score Commands
18903 @section Group Score Commands
18904 @cindex group score commands
18906 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18911 @kindex W f (Group)
18912 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18913 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18914 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18915 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18919 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18921 @findex gnus-batch-score
18922 @cindex batch scoring
18924 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18928 @node Score Variables
18929 @section Score Variables
18930 @cindex score variables
18934 @item gnus-use-scoring
18935 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18936 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18937 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18939 @item gnus-kill-killed
18940 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18941 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18942 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18943 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18944 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18945 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18946 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18948 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18949 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18950 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18951 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18952 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18954 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18955 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18956 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18957 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18959 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18960 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18961 @cindex score cache
18962 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18963 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18964 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18965 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18966 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18967 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18968 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18971 @item gnus-save-score
18972 @vindex gnus-save-score
18973 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18974 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18975 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18977 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18978 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18979 across group visits.
18981 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18982 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18983 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18984 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18985 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18986 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18987 manually entered data.
18989 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18990 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18991 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18993 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18994 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18995 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18996 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18997 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18998 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19000 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19001 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19002 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19003 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19005 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19006 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19007 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19008 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19010 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19011 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19012 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19013 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19015 Predefined functions available are:
19018 @item gnus-score-find-single
19019 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19020 Only apply the group's own score file.
19022 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19023 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19024 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19025 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19026 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19027 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19028 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19029 then a regexp match is done.
19031 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19032 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19034 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19035 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19036 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19037 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19039 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19040 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19041 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19042 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19043 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19047 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19048 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19049 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19050 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19051 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19052 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19053 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19056 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19057 overall score file, you could use the value
19059 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19060 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19063 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19064 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19065 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19066 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19067 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19069 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19070 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19071 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19072 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19073 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19074 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19075 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19076 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19078 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19079 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19080 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19082 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19083 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19084 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19085 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19086 threading---according to the current value of
19087 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19088 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19089 simplified in this manner.
19094 @node Score File Format
19095 @section Score File Format
19096 @cindex score file format
19098 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19099 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19100 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19102 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19106 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19108 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19110 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19112 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19117 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19121 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19122 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19123 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19124 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19128 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19129 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19131 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19132 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19133 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19135 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19140 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19141 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19142 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19143 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19144 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19145 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19146 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19147 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19148 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19149 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19150 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19151 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19152 to articles that matches these score entries.
19154 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19155 score entry has one to four elements.
19159 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19160 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19164 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19165 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19166 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19167 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19168 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19169 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19172 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19173 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19174 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19175 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19176 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19179 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19180 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19181 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19182 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19185 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19186 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19187 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19188 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19189 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19190 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19191 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19192 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19193 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19194 instead, if you feel like.
19197 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19198 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19199 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19200 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19201 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19202 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19206 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19207 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19211 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19212 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19214 These predicates are true if
19217 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19220 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19221 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19228 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19229 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19230 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19231 it's not. I think.)
19233 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19234 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19235 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19236 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19239 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19240 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19241 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19242 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19243 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19244 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19245 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19249 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19250 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19251 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19252 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19253 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19254 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19255 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19256 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19259 @item Head, Body, All
19260 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
19264 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19265 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19266 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19267 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19268 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19269 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19270 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19274 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19275 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
19276 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
19277 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
19278 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
19279 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
19280 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
19281 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
19282 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
19283 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
19284 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
19288 @cindex score file atoms
19290 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19291 lower than this number will be marked as read.
19294 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19295 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
19297 @item mark-and-expunge
19298 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19299 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
19302 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
19303 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
19304 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
19305 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19306 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19309 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19310 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19313 @item exclude-files
19314 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19315 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19319 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19320 ignored when handling global score files.
19323 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19324 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19325 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19326 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19329 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19330 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19331 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19332 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19334 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19338 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19341 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19342 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19343 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19344 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19345 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19347 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19348 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19349 scoring rules exist.
19352 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19353 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19354 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19355 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19356 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19357 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19358 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19359 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19360 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19361 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19362 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19366 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19367 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19368 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19369 file for a number of groups.
19372 @cindex local variables
19373 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19374 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19375 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19376 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19377 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19382 @node Score File Editing
19383 @section Score File Editing
19385 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19386 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19387 with a mode for that.
19389 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19390 additional commands:
19395 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19396 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19397 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19398 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19401 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19402 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19403 Insert the current date in numerical format
19404 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19405 you were wondering.
19408 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19409 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19410 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19411 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19412 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19417 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19419 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19420 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19422 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
19423 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
19426 @node Adaptive Scoring
19427 @section Adaptive Scoring
19428 @cindex adaptive scoring
19430 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19431 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19432 stupidity, to be precise.
19434 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19435 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19436 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19437 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19438 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19439 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19440 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19441 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19442 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19444 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19445 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19446 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19447 might look something like this:
19450 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19451 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19452 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19453 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19454 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19455 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19456 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19457 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19458 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19459 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19460 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19461 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19464 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19465 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19466 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19467 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19468 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19469 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19472 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19473 will be applied to each article.
19475 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19476 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19477 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19478 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19480 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19481 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19482 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19483 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19485 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19486 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19487 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19488 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19490 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19491 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19492 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19493 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19494 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19495 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19497 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19498 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19499 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19501 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19502 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19503 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19505 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19506 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19507 let you use different rules in different groups.
19509 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19510 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19511 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19514 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19515 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19516 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19517 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19518 the length of the match is less than
19519 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19520 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19523 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19524 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19525 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19526 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19527 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19530 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19531 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19532 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19533 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19534 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19537 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19538 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19539 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19540 score with 30 points.
19542 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19543 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19544 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19545 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19546 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19548 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19549 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19550 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19551 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19552 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19554 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19555 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19556 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19557 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19559 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19560 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19561 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19562 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19564 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19565 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19566 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19567 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19568 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19570 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19571 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19572 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19574 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19575 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19576 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19577 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19580 @node Home Score File
19581 @section Home Score File
19583 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19584 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19585 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19586 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19588 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19589 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19590 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19592 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19593 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19598 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19602 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19603 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19607 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19611 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19612 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19615 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19616 be used as the home score file.
19619 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19622 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19627 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19630 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19631 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19634 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19635 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19637 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19639 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19640 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19643 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19644 Other functions include
19647 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19648 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19649 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19650 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19654 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19655 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19656 their own home score files:
19659 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19660 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19661 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19662 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19663 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19666 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19667 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19668 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19669 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19670 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19672 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19673 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19674 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19675 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19676 precedence over this variable.
19679 @node Followups To Yourself
19680 @section Followups To Yourself
19682 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19683 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19684 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19685 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19686 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19687 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19691 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19692 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19693 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19696 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19697 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19698 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19702 @vindex message-sent-hook
19703 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19704 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19706 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19710 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19711 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19715 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19716 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19719 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19720 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19725 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19729 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19730 is system-dependent.
19733 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19734 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19735 @cindex scoring on other headers
19737 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19738 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19739 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19740 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19741 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19743 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19744 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
19745 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
19746 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
19747 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19749 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19752 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19753 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19756 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19757 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19758 time if you have much mail.
19760 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19761 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19767 @section Scoring Tips
19768 @cindex scoring tips
19774 @cindex scoring crossposts
19775 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19776 the @code{Xref} header.
19778 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19781 @item Multiple crossposts
19782 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19783 more than, say, 3 groups:
19786 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19790 @item Matching on the body
19791 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19792 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19793 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19794 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19795 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19796 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19797 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19800 @item Marking as read
19801 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19802 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19803 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19807 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19809 @item Negated character classes
19810 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19811 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19812 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19816 @node Reverse Scoring
19817 @section Reverse Scoring
19818 @cindex reverse scoring
19820 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19821 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19822 like this in your score file:
19826 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19831 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19832 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19835 @node Global Score Files
19836 @section Global Score Files
19837 @cindex global score files
19839 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19840 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19841 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19843 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19844 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19845 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19847 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19848 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19849 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19850 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19851 files are applicable to which group.
19853 To use the score file
19854 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19855 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19859 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19860 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19861 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19864 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19866 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19867 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19868 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19869 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19871 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19872 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19874 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19875 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19876 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19877 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19878 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19879 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19881 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19887 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19889 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19891 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19893 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19894 lowered out of existence.
19896 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19897 articles completely.
19900 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19901 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19902 old articles for a long time.
19905 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19906 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19907 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19908 holding our breath yet?
19912 @section Kill Files
19915 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19916 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19917 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19919 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19920 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19921 files into score files.
19923 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19924 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19925 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19926 that isn't a very good idea.
19928 Normal kill files look like this:
19931 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19932 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19936 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19937 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19939 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19940 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19943 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
19948 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19949 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19950 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19953 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19954 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19955 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19958 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19963 @kindex M-k (Group)
19964 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19965 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19968 @kindex M-K (Group)
19969 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19970 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19973 Kill file variables:
19976 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19977 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19978 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19979 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19980 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19981 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19982 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19984 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19985 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19986 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19987 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19990 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19991 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19992 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19993 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19994 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19995 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19996 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19997 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19998 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20000 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20001 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20002 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20007 @node Converting Kill Files
20008 @section Converting Kill Files
20010 @cindex converting kill files
20012 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20013 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20014 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20017 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20018 You can fetch it from
20019 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20021 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20022 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20023 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20031 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
20032 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
20034 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/, GroupLens} is a
20035 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
20036 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
20037 news articles generated every day.
20039 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
20040 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
20041 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
20042 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
20043 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
20044 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
20045 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
20046 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
20050 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
20051 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
20052 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
20053 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
20057 @node Using GroupLens
20058 @subsection Using GroupLens
20060 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local
20061 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html, Better Bit
20062 Bureau (BBB)} is the only better bit in town at the moment.
20064 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
20068 @item gnus-use-grouplens
20069 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
20070 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
20071 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
20073 @item grouplens-pseudonym
20074 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
20075 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
20076 with the Better Bit Bureau.
20078 @item grouplens-newsgroups
20079 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
20080 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
20084 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
20085 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
20086 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
20087 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
20088 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
20089 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
20092 @node Rating Articles
20093 @subsection Rating Articles
20095 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
20096 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
20097 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
20098 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
20101 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
20106 @kindex r (GroupLens)
20107 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
20108 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
20111 @kindex k (GroupLens)
20112 @findex grouplens-score-thread
20113 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
20114 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
20115 threads in rec.humor.
20119 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
20120 the score of the article you're reading.
20125 @kindex n (GroupLens)
20126 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
20127 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
20130 @kindex , (GroupLens)
20131 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
20132 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
20136 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
20137 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
20140 @node Displaying Predictions
20141 @subsection Displaying Predictions
20143 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
20144 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
20145 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
20146 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
20147 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
20149 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
20150 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
20151 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
20152 regular Gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
20153 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
20154 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
20155 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
20156 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
20157 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
20158 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
20159 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
20160 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
20161 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
20163 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
20164 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
20165 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
20166 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
20168 The following are valid values for that variable.
20171 @item prediction-spot
20172 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
20175 @item confidence-interval
20176 A numeric confidence interval.
20178 @item prediction-bar
20179 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
20181 @item confidence-bar
20182 Numerical confidence.
20184 @item confidence-spot
20185 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
20187 @item prediction-num
20188 Plain-old numeric value.
20190 @item confidence-plus-minus
20191 Prediction +/- confidence.
20196 @node GroupLens Variables
20197 @subsection GroupLens Variables
20201 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
20202 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
20203 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
20204 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
20207 @item grouplens-bbb-host
20208 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
20211 @item grouplens-bbb-port
20212 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
20214 @item grouplens-score-offset
20215 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
20216 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
20219 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
20220 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
20221 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
20226 @node Advanced Scoring
20227 @section Advanced Scoring
20229 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20230 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20231 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20232 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20233 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20235 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20239 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20240 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20241 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20245 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20246 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20248 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20249 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20250 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20251 non-@code{nil} value.
20253 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20254 operator, and various match operators.
20261 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20262 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20263 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20268 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20269 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20270 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20275 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20276 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20280 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20281 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20282 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20283 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20284 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20285 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20286 the ancestry you want to go.
20288 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20289 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20290 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20291 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20292 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20295 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20296 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20298 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20299 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20302 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20303 when he's talking about Gnus:
20308 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20309 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20316 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20320 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20327 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20328 really don't want to read what he's written:
20332 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20333 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20337 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20338 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20339 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20346 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20347 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20348 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20349 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20353 The possibilities are endless.
20356 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20357 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20359 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20360 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20361 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20362 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20363 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20364 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20365 @samp{subject}) first.
20367 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20368 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20379 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20380 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20386 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20393 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20394 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20399 @section Score Decays
20400 @cindex score decays
20403 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20404 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20405 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20406 use them in any sensible way.
20408 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20409 @findex gnus-decay-score
20410 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20411 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20412 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20413 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20414 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20415 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20416 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20417 definition of that function:
20420 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20421 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20422 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20424 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20426 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20428 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20429 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20430 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
20431 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20432 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20434 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20438 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20439 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20440 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20441 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20445 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20448 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20451 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20455 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20456 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20457 the new score, which should be an integer.
20459 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20460 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20465 @include message.texi
20466 @chapter Emacs MIME
20467 @include emacs-mime.texi
20469 @include sieve.texi
20479 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20480 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20481 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20482 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20483 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20484 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20485 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20486 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20487 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20488 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20489 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20490 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20491 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20492 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20493 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20494 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20495 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20496 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20497 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20501 @node Process/Prefix
20502 @section Process/Prefix
20503 @cindex process/prefix convention
20505 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20506 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20508 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20509 command to be performed on.
20513 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20514 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20515 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20516 with the current one.
20518 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20519 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20520 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20522 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20523 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20526 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20527 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20529 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20532 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20533 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20534 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20535 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20537 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20538 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20539 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20540 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20541 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20542 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20543 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20544 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20546 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20547 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20548 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20549 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20550 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20554 @section Interactive
20555 @cindex interaction
20559 @item gnus-novice-user
20560 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20561 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20562 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20563 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20564 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20567 @item gnus-expert-user
20568 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20569 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20570 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20571 matter how strange.
20573 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20574 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20575 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20576 is @code{t} by default.
20578 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20579 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20580 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20585 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20586 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20587 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20589 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20590 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20591 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20592 rule of 900 to the current article.
20594 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20595 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20596 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20597 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20598 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20599 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20600 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20602 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20603 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20604 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20605 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20606 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20607 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20608 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20609 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20610 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20612 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20613 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20614 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20616 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20620 @node Formatting Variables
20621 @section Formatting Variables
20622 @cindex formatting variables
20624 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20625 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20626 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20627 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20628 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20631 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20632 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20633 lots of percentages everywhere.
20636 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20637 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20638 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20639 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20640 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20641 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20642 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20643 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20646 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20647 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20648 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20649 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20650 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20651 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20652 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20653 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20655 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20656 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20658 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20659 @findex gnus-update-format
20660 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20661 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20662 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20663 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20667 @node Formatting Basics
20668 @subsection Formatting Basics
20670 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20671 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20672 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20674 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20675 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20676 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20677 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20678 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20681 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20682 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20683 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20684 less than 4 characters wide.
20686 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20687 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20690 @node Mode Line Formatting
20691 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20693 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20694 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20695 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20696 with the following two differences:
20701 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20704 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20705 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20706 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20707 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20708 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20709 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20710 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20715 @node Advanced Formatting
20716 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20718 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20719 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20720 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20721 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20723 These are the valid modifiers:
20728 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20732 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20737 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20740 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20745 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20748 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20751 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20754 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20760 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20765 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20766 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20767 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20768 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20769 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20770 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20771 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20773 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20774 last operation, padding.
20776 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
20777 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
20778 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
20779 @xref{Compilation}.
20782 @node User-Defined Specs
20783 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20785 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20786 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20787 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20788 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20789 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20790 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20791 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20792 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20793 should protect against that.
20795 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20796 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20798 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20799 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20800 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20801 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20805 @node Formatting Fonts
20806 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20808 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20809 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20810 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20811 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20814 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20815 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20816 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20817 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20818 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20819 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20821 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20822 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20823 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20824 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20825 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20826 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20827 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20828 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20829 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20830 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20831 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20834 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20837 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20838 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20839 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20841 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20842 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20843 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20844 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20845 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20846 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20847 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20849 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20850 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20851 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20854 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20855 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20857 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20858 mode-line variables.
20860 @node Positioning Point
20861 @subsection Positioning Point
20863 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20864 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20865 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20867 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20869 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20870 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20871 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20873 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20874 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20875 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20880 @subsection Tabulation
20882 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20883 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20884 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20885 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20887 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20888 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20890 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20891 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20892 This is the soft tabulator.
20894 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20895 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20896 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20899 @node Wide Characters
20900 @subsection Wide Characters
20902 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20903 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20904 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20906 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20907 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20908 these countries, that's not true.
20910 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20911 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20912 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20913 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20917 @node Window Layout
20918 @section Window Layout
20919 @cindex window layout
20921 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20923 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20924 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20925 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20926 @code{t} by default.
20928 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20929 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20931 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20932 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20933 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20936 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20937 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20938 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20942 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20943 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20944 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20945 possible names is listed below.
20947 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20948 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20951 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20955 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20956 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20957 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20958 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20959 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20960 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20961 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20962 size spec per split.
20964 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20965 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20966 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20967 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20968 present) gets focus.
20970 Here's a more complicated example:
20973 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20974 (summary 0.25 point)
20975 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20979 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20980 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20981 occupy, not a percentage.
20983 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20984 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20985 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20986 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20987 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20990 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20993 (article (horizontal 1.0
20998 (summary 0.25 point)
21003 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
21004 @code{horizontal} thingie?
21006 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
21007 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
21008 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
21009 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
21010 the screen is to be given to this strip.
21012 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
21013 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
21014 lines from the splits.
21016 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
21021 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
21022 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
21023 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
21024 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
21025 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
21026 size = number | frame-params
21027 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
21031 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
21032 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
21033 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
21034 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
21036 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
21037 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
21038 @cindex window height
21039 @cindex window width
21040 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
21041 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
21042 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
21043 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
21044 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
21045 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
21047 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
21048 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
21049 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
21050 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
21052 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21053 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21054 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21055 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21056 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21057 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21058 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21059 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21060 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21061 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21062 configuration list.
21065 (gnus-configure-frame
21069 (article 0.3 point))
21077 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21078 @code{frame} split:
21081 (gnus-configure-frame
21084 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21086 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21087 (user-position . t)
21088 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21093 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21094 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21095 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21096 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21097 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21098 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21099 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21100 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21102 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21103 be found in its default value.
21105 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21106 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21107 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21111 (message (horizontal 1.0
21112 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21114 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21119 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21120 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21121 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21126 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21127 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21128 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21129 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21130 (name . "Message"))
21131 (message 1.0 point))))
21134 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21135 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21136 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21137 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21138 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21141 (gnus-add-configuration
21142 '(article (vertical 1.0
21144 (summary .25 point)
21148 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21149 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21150 Gnus has been loaded.
21152 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21153 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21154 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21155 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21156 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21158 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21159 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21160 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21163 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21167 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21168 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21183 (gnus-add-configuration
21186 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21188 (summary 0.16 point)
21191 (gnus-add-configuration
21194 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21195 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21201 @node Faces and Fonts
21202 @section Faces and Fonts
21207 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21208 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21209 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21214 @section Compilation
21215 @cindex compilation
21216 @cindex byte-compilation
21218 @findex gnus-compile
21220 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21221 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21222 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
21223 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21224 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21225 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21228 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21229 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21230 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21231 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
21232 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
21233 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
21234 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
21238 @section Mode Lines
21241 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21242 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21243 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21244 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21245 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21246 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21247 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21250 @cindex display-time
21252 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21253 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21254 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21255 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21256 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21257 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21258 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21259 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21262 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21264 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21265 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21267 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21268 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21269 (length display-time-string)))))
21272 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21273 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21274 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21275 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21276 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21279 @node Highlighting and Menus
21280 @section Highlighting and Menus
21282 @cindex highlighting
21285 @vindex gnus-visual
21286 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21287 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21288 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21291 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21292 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21295 @item group-highlight
21296 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21297 @item summary-highlight
21298 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21299 @item article-highlight
21300 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21302 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21304 Create menus in the group buffer.
21306 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21308 Create menus in the article buffer.
21310 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21312 Create menus in the server buffer.
21314 Create menus in the score buffers.
21316 Create menus in all buffers.
21319 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21320 buffers, you could say something like:
21323 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21326 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21329 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21332 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21333 in all Gnus buffers.
21335 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21338 @item gnus-mouse-face
21339 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21340 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21341 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21345 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21349 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21350 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21351 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21353 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21354 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21355 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21357 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21358 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21359 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21361 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21362 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21363 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21365 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21366 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21367 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21369 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21370 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21371 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21382 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21383 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21384 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21385 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21386 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21390 @vindex gnus-carpal
21391 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21392 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21393 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21398 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21399 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21400 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21402 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21403 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21404 Face used on buttons.
21406 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21407 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21408 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21410 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21411 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21412 Buttons in the group buffer.
21414 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21415 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21416 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21418 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21419 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21420 Buttons in the server buffer.
21422 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21423 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21424 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21427 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21428 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21429 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21437 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21438 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21439 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21440 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21441 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21443 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21444 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21445 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21447 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21448 been idle for thirty minutes:
21451 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21454 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21458 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21461 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
21462 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21463 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21465 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21466 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21467 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21468 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21470 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21471 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21472 @var{idle} minutes.
21474 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21475 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21478 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21479 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21480 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21482 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21483 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21484 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21485 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21487 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21488 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21490 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21492 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21495 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21496 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21497 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21498 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21499 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21500 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21501 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21502 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21503 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21504 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21505 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21507 @findex gnus-demon-init
21508 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21509 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21510 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21511 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21512 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21514 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21515 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21516 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21525 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21526 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21528 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21529 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21530 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21531 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21534 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21535 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21536 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21537 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21539 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21540 this will make spam disappear.
21542 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21545 @item gnus-use-nocem
21546 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21547 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21550 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21551 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21552 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21555 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21556 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21559 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21560 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21561 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21562 people you want to listen to. The default is
21564 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21565 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21567 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21569 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21570 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21572 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21573 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21574 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21575 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21576 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21577 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21578 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21579 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21580 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21581 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21583 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21584 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21587 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21590 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21591 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21594 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21597 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21600 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21601 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21603 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21604 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21605 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21606 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21608 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21609 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21612 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21614 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21622 This might be dangerous, though.
21624 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21625 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21626 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21627 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21629 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21630 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21631 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21632 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21633 might then see old spam.
21635 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21636 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21637 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21638 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21639 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21642 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21643 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21644 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21645 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21649 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21650 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21651 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21652 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21659 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21660 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21661 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21663 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21664 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21665 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21666 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21667 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21668 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21669 @code{undo} function.
21671 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21672 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21673 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21674 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21675 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21676 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21677 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21678 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21679 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21680 never be totally undoable.
21682 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21683 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21685 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21686 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21687 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21688 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21692 @node Predicate Specifiers
21693 @section Predicate Specifiers
21694 @cindex predicate specifiers
21696 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21697 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21698 to type all that much.
21700 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21705 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21706 gnus-article-unread-p)
21709 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21710 functions all take one parameter.
21712 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21713 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21714 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21715 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21720 @section Moderation
21723 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21724 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21725 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21728 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21732 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21735 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21737 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21742 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21743 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21744 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21747 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21748 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21751 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21752 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21756 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21759 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21760 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21764 @node Image Enhancements
21765 @section Image Enhancements
21767 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21768 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21769 taken advantage of that.
21772 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21773 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
21774 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21775 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21776 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21784 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21785 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21786 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21790 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21791 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21792 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21800 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21801 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21802 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21803 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21805 The variable that controls this is the
21806 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21807 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21808 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21809 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21810 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21812 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21813 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21814 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21815 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21818 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21819 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21820 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21821 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21822 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21823 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21824 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21825 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21827 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21830 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21831 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21833 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21834 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21835 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21836 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21837 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21838 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21839 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21840 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21841 header data as a string.
21843 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21844 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21845 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21846 randomly generated data.
21848 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21849 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21850 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21851 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21852 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21854 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21855 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21858 (setq message-required-news-headers
21859 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21860 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21863 Using the last function would be something like this:
21866 (setq message-required-news-headers
21867 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21868 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21869 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21870 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21878 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
21880 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
21881 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
21882 represent the author of the message.
21885 @findex gnus-article-display-face
21886 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
21887 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
21890 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21891 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
21893 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
21894 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
21895 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
21897 @findex gnus-face-from-file
21898 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
21899 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
21900 converts the file to Face format by using the
21901 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
21903 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
21904 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21907 (setq message-required-news-headers
21908 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21909 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
21910 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
21915 @subsection Smileys
21920 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21925 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21926 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21928 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21929 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21932 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21935 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21936 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21937 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21938 text and maps that to file names.
21940 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21941 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21942 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21943 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21944 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21947 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21952 @item smiley-data-directory
21953 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21954 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21956 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21957 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21958 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21972 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21973 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
21974 over your shoulder as you read news.
21976 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21985 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21986 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21987 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21988 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21989 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21990 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21991 @code{GIF} formats.
21994 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21995 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21996 point your Web browser at
21997 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21999 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
22000 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
22002 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
22003 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
22006 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
22010 @item gnus-picon-databases
22011 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22012 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
22013 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
22014 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
22015 "/usr/local/faces")}.
22017 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
22018 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
22019 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22020 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
22022 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
22023 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
22024 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
22025 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
22027 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
22028 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
22029 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22030 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
22031 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
22033 @item gnus-picon-file-types
22034 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
22035 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
22036 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
22042 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
22045 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22046 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22047 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
22048 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
22049 unusual directory structure.
22051 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22052 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22053 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
22054 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
22056 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22057 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22058 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
22059 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
22060 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
22061 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
22063 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22064 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22065 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22070 @subsubsection Toolbar
22074 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22075 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22076 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
22077 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
22078 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
22080 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22081 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22082 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22084 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22085 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22086 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22088 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22089 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22090 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22101 @node Fuzzy Matching
22102 @section Fuzzy Matching
22103 @cindex fuzzy matching
22105 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22106 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22108 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22109 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22110 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22112 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22113 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22114 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22115 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22116 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22119 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22120 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22124 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22126 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22127 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22128 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22129 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22130 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22131 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22132 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22133 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22136 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22137 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22138 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22139 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22140 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22141 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22143 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22146 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22147 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22148 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22149 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22150 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22151 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22154 @node The problem of spam
22155 @subsection The problem of spam
22157 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22158 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22160 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22162 First, some background on spam.
22164 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22165 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22166 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22167 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22168 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22169 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22170 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22171 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22172 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22174 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22175 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22176 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22177 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22178 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22179 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22180 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22181 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22182 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22185 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22186 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
22187 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
22188 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
22189 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
22190 lots of spam from China, for example, you try to filter all mail from
22193 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. For
22194 instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has been
22195 blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
22196 words that were common in spam messages. The risks of blocking a
22197 whole country from contacting you should also be obvious, so don't do
22198 it if you have the choice. Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with
22199 great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
22201 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22202 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22203 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22204 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22205 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
22206 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
22207 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
22208 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
22209 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22211 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22212 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22213 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22214 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22215 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22216 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
22217 down for some time because of the incident.
22219 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22220 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22221 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22222 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22223 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22224 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22225 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22226 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
22227 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
22228 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
22229 the server that it has misclassified mail.
22231 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
22232 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
22233 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
22234 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
22235 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
22236 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
22237 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
22240 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22241 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22245 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22247 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22248 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22250 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22251 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22252 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22253 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22254 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22255 part of the mail address.)
22258 (setq message-default-news-headers
22259 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22262 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22263 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22267 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22268 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22269 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22274 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22275 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22276 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22277 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22279 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22280 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22281 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22282 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22283 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22284 your fancy split rule in this way:
22289 (to "larsi" "misc")
22293 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22294 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22295 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22296 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22297 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22299 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22300 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22301 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22302 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22304 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
22308 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
22309 @cindex SpamAssassin
22310 @cindex Vipul's Razor
22313 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
22314 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
22315 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
22316 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
22317 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
22318 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
22319 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
22321 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
22322 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
22323 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
22326 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
22327 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
22328 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
22329 Specifiers}) follow.
22333 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
22337 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
22340 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
22341 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
22342 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
22345 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
22349 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22352 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
22353 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
22357 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
22358 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
22359 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
22360 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
22363 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
22365 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22369 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22370 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22374 Note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will not be
22375 downloaded by default. You need to set
22376 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to t to do that (@pxref{Splitting in
22379 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22380 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22381 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22384 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22385 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22387 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22388 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22389 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22393 @subsection Hashcash
22396 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22397 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22398 you cannot rely on everyone in the world using this technique,
22399 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22400 in smaller communities.
22402 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22403 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22404 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22405 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22406 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22407 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
22408 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22409 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22410 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22411 one of them separately.
22414 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22415 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22416 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22417 header. For more details, and for the external application
22418 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22419 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22420 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22422 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22426 (require 'hashcash)
22427 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22430 The @file{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22431 contrib directory or at
22432 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22434 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22438 @item hashcash-default-payment
22439 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22440 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22441 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22442 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22444 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22445 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22446 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22447 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22448 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22449 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22450 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22451 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22452 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22456 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22460 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22461 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22462 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22463 a useful contribution, however.
22465 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22466 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22467 @cindex spam filtering
22470 The idea behind @file{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22471 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @file{spam.el} does two things: it
22472 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22473 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @file{spam.el} to indicate
22476 First of all, you @strong{must} run the function
22477 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @code{spam.el} and to install the
22478 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
22479 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
22480 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
22483 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
22487 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
22489 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
22490 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
22491 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
22492 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
22493 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
22495 You get the following keyboard commands:
22505 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22506 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22508 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22509 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22510 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22511 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22517 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22518 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22520 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22526 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22527 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22531 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
22532 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
22533 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
22534 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
22535 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22536 * BBDB Whitelists::
22537 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22538 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22540 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22542 * ifile spam filtering::
22543 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22545 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
22548 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22549 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22550 @cindex spam filtering
22551 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
22554 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
22555 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
22557 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
22558 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
22561 Getting new mail is done in one of two ways. You can either split
22562 your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or spam
22563 when you enter the group.
22565 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail backends such as
22566 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
22567 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
22570 For backends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
22571 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
22572 backends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
22573 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
22574 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
22575 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
22576 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods} and
22577 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods} (accessible with @kbd{M-x
22578 customize-variable} as usual).
22580 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used, it hooks into the process of
22581 entering a group. Thus, entering a group with unseen or unread
22582 articles becomes the substitute for checking incoming mail. Whether
22583 only unseen articles or all unread articles will be processed is
22584 determined by the @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When set
22585 to t, unread messages will be rechecked.
22587 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
22588 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
22589 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
22590 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
22591 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
22592 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
22593 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
22594 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
22595 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
22597 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
22598 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
22599 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
22600 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
22601 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
22602 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
22603 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
22604 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
22605 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
22606 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
22608 So, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied, if
22609 any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
22610 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
22611 depending on the article's classification. If the
22612 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
22613 whichever is appropriate, are nil, the article is left in the current
22616 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
22617 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
22618 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
22619 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
22620 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
22621 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
22622 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22623 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
22624 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
22625 which is what most people want.
22627 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determineed by the
22628 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
22629 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
22630 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
22631 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
22632 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
22633 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22634 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
22635 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
22636 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
22637 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
22639 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
22640 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface... err, sorry, that's
22641 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
22643 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22644 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22645 @cindex spam filtering
22646 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
22649 To use the @file{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22650 must add the following to your fancy split list
22651 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22657 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22658 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22659 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22661 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22662 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22663 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22664 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
22665 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
22666 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
22667 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
22668 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
22669 actually give you the group
22670 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
22671 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
22673 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22674 e.g. @samp{'spam-use-regex-headers} or @samp{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
22677 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22678 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22681 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22682 (any "ding" "ding")
22688 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22689 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22690 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22691 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22692 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22693 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22695 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
22696 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22697 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22700 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22701 ;;; all spam detected by spam-use-regex-headers goes to "regex-spam"
22702 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22703 (any "ding" "ding")
22704 ;;; all other spam detected by spam-split goes to spam-split-group
22710 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
22711 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
22712 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
22713 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
22714 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
22715 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
22716 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
22718 You should still have specific checks such as
22719 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
22720 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
22721 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
22722 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
22723 is usually not critical, though.
22725 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22727 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22728 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22729 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22730 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22731 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22732 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22733 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22734 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22736 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22738 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22739 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22742 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22743 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22744 @cindex spam filtering
22745 @cindex spam filtering variables
22746 @cindex spam variables
22749 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22750 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22751 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22752 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22753 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22754 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22755 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22756 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22757 will be detected later.
22759 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
22760 but now it is a cons cell. See the individual spam processor entries
22761 for more information.
22763 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22764 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22765 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22766 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22767 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22768 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22769 by customizing the corresponding variable
22770 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22771 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22772 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22773 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22774 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22775 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22776 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22779 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22781 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22782 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22783 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22784 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22785 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22786 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22787 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
22788 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
22789 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
22790 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
22791 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
22792 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
22793 processor which will study them as spam samples.
22795 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22796 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22797 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22798 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22799 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22800 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22801 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22802 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22805 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22806 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22807 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
22808 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
22809 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
22810 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
22811 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
22816 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22817 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22818 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
22819 you really want to.
22822 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22823 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22824 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22825 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22826 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22827 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22830 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22831 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22832 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22833 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22834 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22835 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22836 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22837 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22838 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22839 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
22840 newsgroup specification has the format (REGEXP PROCESSOR) in a
22841 standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually.
22842 The ultimate location is a group name or names. If the
22843 @code{ham-process-destination} parameter is not set, ham articles are
22844 left in place. If the
22845 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22846 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
22848 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22849 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
22850 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
22852 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22853 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22855 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
22856 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
22857 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
22858 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
22859 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
22861 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
22862 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
22863 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
22864 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
22865 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
22868 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
22869 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22870 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22871 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22872 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22873 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22874 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22875 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each newsgroup specification has
22876 the repeated format (REGEXP GROUP) and they are all in a standard Lisp
22877 list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. The ultimate
22878 location is a group name or names. If the
22879 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
22880 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
22881 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
22882 group buffer then you need it here as well.
22884 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22885 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
22888 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
22889 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
22890 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
22891 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
22892 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
22893 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
22894 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
22896 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
22897 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
22898 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to nil,
22899 unread articles will also be marked as spam.
22901 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
22902 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
22903 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
22904 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham - the article will be placed
22905 in your ham-process-destination, unmarked as if it came fresh from
22908 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
22909 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
22910 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
22911 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
22913 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
22914 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
22915 @cindex spam filtering
22916 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
22917 @cindex spam configuration examples
22920 @emph{TODO}: add configuration examples with explanations of daily usage
22922 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22923 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22924 @cindex spam filtering
22925 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22926 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22929 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22931 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22932 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22933 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22934 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22939 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22941 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22942 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22943 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22944 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22945 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22949 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22951 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22952 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22953 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22957 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22959 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22960 customizing the group parameters or the
22961 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22962 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22963 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22967 Instead of the obsolete
22968 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
22969 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
22970 the same way, we promise.
22974 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22976 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22977 customizing the group parameters or the
22978 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22979 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22980 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22981 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22982 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22986 Instead of the obsolete
22987 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
22988 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
22989 the same way, we promise.
22993 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22994 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22995 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22996 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22997 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22999 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
23000 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
23001 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
23002 Emacs regular expression syntax.
23004 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
23005 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
23006 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
23007 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
23008 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
23009 @file{blacklist} respectively.
23011 @node BBDB Whitelists
23012 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
23013 @cindex spam filtering
23014 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
23015 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
23018 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
23020 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23021 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
23022 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
23023 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
23024 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23025 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
23026 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23030 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
23032 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
23033 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23034 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
23035 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
23036 classified as spammers.
23040 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
23042 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23043 customizing the group parameters or the
23044 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23045 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23046 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23047 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
23048 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23052 Instead of the obsolete
23053 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
23054 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
23055 the same way, we promise.
23059 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
23060 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
23061 @cindex spam reporting
23062 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23063 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23066 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
23068 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23069 customizing the group parameters or the
23070 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23071 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23072 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
23075 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
23079 Instead of the obsolete
23080 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
23081 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
23082 same way, we promise.
23086 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
23088 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
23089 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
23090 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
23091 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
23092 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
23097 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23098 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23099 @cindex spam filtering
23100 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
23103 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
23105 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23106 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
23107 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
23108 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
23109 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
23110 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
23111 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
23117 @subsubsection Blackholes
23118 @cindex spam filtering
23119 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
23122 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
23124 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
23125 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
23126 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
23127 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
23128 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
23129 contains outdated servers.
23131 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
23132 @file{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
23133 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
23134 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
23135 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
23136 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
23140 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
23142 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
23146 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
23148 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
23149 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
23153 @defvar spam-use-dig
23155 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
23156 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
23160 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
23161 ham processor for blackholes.
23163 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
23164 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
23165 @cindex spam filtering
23166 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
23169 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
23171 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
23172 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
23173 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
23174 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
23175 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
23176 message is spam or ham, respectively.
23180 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
23182 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23183 the message, positively identify it as spam.
23187 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
23189 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23190 the message, positively identify it as ham.
23194 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
23195 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
23198 @subsubsection Bogofilter
23199 @cindex spam filtering
23200 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
23203 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
23205 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23208 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
23209 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
23210 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
23211 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
23212 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
23213 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
23215 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
23216 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
23219 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
23220 processing will be turned off.
23222 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
23226 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
23228 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23229 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
23230 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
23231 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
23232 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
23233 installation documents for details.
23235 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
23239 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
23240 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23241 customizing the group parameters or the
23242 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23243 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
23244 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
23248 Instead of the obsolete
23249 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23250 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23251 the same way, we promise.
23254 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
23255 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23256 customizing the group parameters or the
23257 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23258 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23259 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
23260 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23261 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23265 Instead of the obsolete
23266 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23267 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23268 the same way, we promise.
23271 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
23273 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
23274 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
23275 database directory.
23279 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
23280 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23281 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
23282 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
23283 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
23284 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
23286 @node ifile spam filtering
23287 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
23288 @cindex spam filtering
23289 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
23292 @defvar spam-use-ifile
23294 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
23295 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
23299 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
23301 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
23302 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
23303 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
23307 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
23309 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
23310 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
23311 the default value of @samp{spam}.
23314 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
23316 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
23317 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
23321 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
23322 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23323 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
23324 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
23327 @node spam-stat spam filtering
23328 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
23329 @cindex spam filtering
23330 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
23334 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
23336 @defvar spam-use-stat
23338 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
23339 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
23343 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
23344 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23345 customizing the group parameters or the
23346 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23347 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23348 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
23352 Instead of the obsolete
23353 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23354 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23355 the same way, we promise.
23358 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
23359 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23360 customizing the group parameters or the
23361 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23362 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23363 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
23364 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23365 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23369 Instead of the obsolete
23370 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23371 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23372 the same way, we promise.
23375 This enables @file{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
23376 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
23377 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
23378 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
23379 @code{spam-split} are provided.
23382 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
23383 @cindex spam filtering
23387 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
23388 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
23389 installed separately.
23391 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
23392 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
23393 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
23394 mail as a spam mail or not.
23396 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
23397 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
23398 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
23400 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
23401 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
23403 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
23404 To enable SpamOracle usage by @file{spam.el}, set the variable
23405 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
23406 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
23407 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
23408 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
23409 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
23410 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
23414 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
23415 spam-split-group "Junk"
23416 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
23417 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23418 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
23421 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
23422 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
23426 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
23427 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
23428 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
23432 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
23433 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
23434 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
23435 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
23436 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
23437 database to live somewhere special, set
23438 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
23441 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
23442 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
23443 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
23444 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
23445 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
23446 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
23447 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @file{spam.el}'s
23448 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
23449 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
23450 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
23452 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
23453 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23454 customizing the group parameter or the
23455 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23456 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
23457 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
23461 Instead of the obsolete
23462 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23463 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23464 the same way, we promise.
23467 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
23468 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23469 customizing the group parameter or the
23470 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23471 to a grup's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
23472 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
23473 messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam} or
23474 @emph{unclassified} groups.
23478 Instead of the obsolete
23479 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23480 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23481 the same way, we promise.
23484 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
23485 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
23488 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
23489 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
23490 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
23492 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
23493 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
23494 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
23495 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
23496 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
23497 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
23499 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
23500 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
23501 @cindex spam filtering
23502 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
23503 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
23505 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
23506 incoming mail, provide the following:
23514 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
23515 "True if blackbox should be used.")
23520 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
23522 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
23526 (gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox ham spam-use-blackbox)
23527 (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox spam spam-use-blackbox)
23529 to @code{spam-list-of-processors}.
23533 (spam-use-blackbox spam-blackbox-register-routine
23535 spam-blackbox-unregister-routine
23538 to @code{spam-registration-functions}. Write the register/unregister
23539 routines using the bogofilter register/unregister routines as a
23540 start, or other restister/unregister routines more appropriate to
23546 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
23547 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other
23548 conventions. See the existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for
23549 examples of what you can do, and stick to the template unless you
23550 fully understand the reasons why you aren't.
23552 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
23553 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
23554 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
23558 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
23565 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
23566 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
23568 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
23569 variables. Instead the form @code{'(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
23570 @code{'(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
23571 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
23574 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
23575 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
23576 Only applicable to spam groups.")
23578 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
23579 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
23580 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
23589 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
23590 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
23592 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
23593 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
23594 variable customization.
23598 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
23600 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
23606 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23607 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23608 @cindex Paul Graham
23609 @cindex Graham, Paul
23610 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
23611 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
23612 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
23614 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
23615 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
23616 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
23617 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
23618 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
23619 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
23620 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
23621 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
23622 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
23625 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
23626 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
23627 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
23628 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
23629 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
23630 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
23631 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
23632 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
23634 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
23635 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
23636 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
23637 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
23638 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
23641 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
23642 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
23643 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
23646 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23647 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23649 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
23650 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
23651 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
23652 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
23653 need several hundred emails in both collections.
23655 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
23656 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
23657 per mail. Use the following:
23659 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
23660 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
23661 is treated as one spam mail.
23664 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
23665 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
23666 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
23669 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
23670 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
23671 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
23672 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
23673 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
23674 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
23676 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
23677 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
23678 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
23679 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
23680 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
23683 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
23684 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
23685 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
23686 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
23689 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
23690 reset the dictionary.
23692 @defun spam-stat-reset
23693 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
23696 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
23697 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
23698 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
23699 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
23700 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
23701 only non-spam mails.
23703 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
23704 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
23705 to update the dictionary incrementally.
23708 @defun spam-stat-save
23709 Save the dictionary.
23712 @defvar spam-stat-file
23713 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
23714 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
23717 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
23718 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
23720 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
23721 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23724 (require 'spam-stat)
23728 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
23731 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
23732 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
23733 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
23734 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
23736 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
23737 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
23738 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
23739 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
23742 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23743 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23747 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
23748 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
23751 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
23752 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
23753 expression are considered potential spam.
23756 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23757 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23758 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23762 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
23763 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
23764 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
23765 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
23766 mails, when creating the dictionary!
23769 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23770 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23771 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23775 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
23776 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
23777 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
23778 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
23779 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
23783 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23784 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
23785 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23786 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23791 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23792 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23794 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
23796 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
23797 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
23798 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23801 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
23802 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
23803 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23806 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
23807 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
23808 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
23809 already been processed as non-spam.
23812 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
23813 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
23814 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
23815 been processed as spam.
23818 @defun spam-stat-save
23819 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
23820 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23823 @defun spam-stat-load
23824 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
23825 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23828 @defun spam-stat-score-word
23829 Return the spam score for a word.
23832 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
23833 Return the spam score for a buffer.
23836 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
23837 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
23838 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23841 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
23842 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23845 (require 'spam-stat)
23849 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
23852 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23853 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23854 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23855 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23856 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23857 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23858 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23859 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23860 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23861 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23862 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23863 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23864 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23865 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23868 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
23871 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23872 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23873 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23874 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
23875 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23876 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23879 @node Various Various
23880 @section Various Various
23886 @item gnus-home-directory
23887 @vindex gnus-home-directory
23888 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
23889 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
23891 @item gnus-directory
23892 @vindex gnus-directory
23893 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
23894 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
23895 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
23897 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
23898 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
23899 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
23900 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
23902 @item gnus-default-directory
23903 @vindex gnus-default-directory
23904 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
23905 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
23906 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
23907 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
23908 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
23909 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
23912 @vindex gnus-verbose
23913 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
23914 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
23915 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
23916 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
23917 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
23919 @item gnus-verbose-backends
23920 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
23921 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
23922 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
23924 @item nnheader-max-head-length
23925 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
23926 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
23927 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
23928 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
23929 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
23930 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
23931 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
23932 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
23933 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
23935 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
23936 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
23937 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
23938 read when doing the operation described above.
23940 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23941 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23943 @cindex invalid characters in file names
23944 @cindex characters in file names
23945 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
23946 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
23947 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
23951 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23956 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
23957 Windows (phooey) systems.
23959 @item gnus-hidden-properties
23960 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
23961 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
23962 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
23963 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
23965 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
23966 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
23967 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
23968 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
23969 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
23971 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
23972 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
23973 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
23975 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23976 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23978 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
23979 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
23980 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
23981 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
23984 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23992 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23993 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23995 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23997 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
24003 Not because of victories @*
24006 but for the common sunshine,@*
24008 the largess of the spring.
24012 but for the day's work done@*
24013 as well as I was able;@*
24014 not for a seat upon the dais@*
24015 but at the common table.@*
24020 @chapter Appendices
24023 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
24024 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
24025 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
24026 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
24027 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
24028 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
24029 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
24030 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
24031 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
24038 @cindex installing under XEmacs
24040 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
24041 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
24042 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
24043 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
24044 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{w3},
24045 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
24052 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
24053 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
24055 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
24056 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
24057 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
24058 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
24059 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
24061 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
24062 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
24063 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
24064 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
24065 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
24066 appropriate name, don't you think?)
24068 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
24069 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
24070 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
24071 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
24074 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
24075 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
24076 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
24077 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
24078 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
24079 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
24080 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
24081 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
24082 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
24086 @node Gnus Versions
24087 @subsection Gnus Versions
24089 @cindex September Gnus
24091 @cindex Quassia Gnus
24092 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
24095 @cindex Gnus versions
24097 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
24098 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
24099 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
24101 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
24102 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
24104 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
24105 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
24107 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
24108 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
24110 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
24111 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
24114 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
24116 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
24117 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
24118 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
24119 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
24120 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
24121 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
24124 @node Other Gnus Versions
24125 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
24128 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
24129 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
24130 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
24131 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
24133 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
24134 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
24135 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
24136 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
24143 What's the point of Gnus?
24145 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
24146 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
24147 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
24148 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
24149 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
24150 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
24151 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
24152 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
24153 keep track of millions of people who post?
24155 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
24156 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
24157 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
24158 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
24159 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
24160 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
24161 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
24162 every one of you to explore and invent.
24164 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
24165 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
24168 @node Compatibility
24169 @subsection Compatibility
24171 @cindex compatibility
24172 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
24173 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
24174 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
24179 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
24183 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
24186 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
24189 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
24190 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
24191 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
24192 important variables have their values copied into their global
24193 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
24194 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
24196 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
24197 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
24198 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
24199 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
24200 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
24204 @cindex highlighting
24205 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
24206 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
24207 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
24208 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
24209 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
24210 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
24213 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
24214 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
24215 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
24216 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
24218 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
24219 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
24220 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
24221 to stop doing it the old way.
24223 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
24225 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24227 @cindex reporting bugs
24229 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
24230 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
24231 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
24233 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
24234 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
24235 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
24236 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
24241 @subsection Conformity
24243 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
24244 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
24252 There are no known breaches of this standard.
24256 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
24258 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
24259 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
24260 We do have some breaches to this one.
24266 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
24267 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
24268 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
24269 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
24270 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
24275 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
24276 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
24277 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
24278 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
24280 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
24281 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
24282 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
24284 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
24285 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
24287 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
24290 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
24291 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
24292 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
24293 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
24294 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
24297 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
24298 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
24299 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
24300 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
24302 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
24303 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
24305 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
24306 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
24307 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
24308 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
24309 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
24310 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
24311 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
24312 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
24316 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
24317 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
24322 @subsection Emacsen
24328 Gnus should work on:
24336 XEmacs 21.1 and up.
24340 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
24341 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
24344 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
24345 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
24346 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
24350 @node Gnus Development
24351 @subsection Gnus Development
24353 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
24354 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
24355 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
24356 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
24357 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
24358 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
24359 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
24360 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
24362 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
24363 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
24364 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
24365 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
24366 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
24369 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
24370 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
24371 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
24372 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
24373 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
24375 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
24376 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
24377 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
24378 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
24379 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
24380 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
24381 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
24382 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
24383 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
24384 can't be assumed to do so.
24389 @subsection Contributors
24390 @cindex contributors
24392 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
24393 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
24394 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
24395 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
24396 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
24397 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
24398 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
24399 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
24400 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
24401 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
24403 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
24409 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
24412 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
24413 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
24414 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
24415 functionality and stuff.
24418 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
24419 well as numerous other things).
24422 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
24425 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
24428 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
24431 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
24434 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
24435 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
24438 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
24441 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
24442 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24445 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
24448 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
24451 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
24454 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
24457 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
24458 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
24461 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
24464 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
24467 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
24470 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
24474 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
24477 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
24480 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
24483 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
24484 well as autoconf support.
24488 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
24489 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
24491 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
24506 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
24508 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
24512 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
24522 Alexei V. Barantsev,
24537 Massimo Campostrini,
24542 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
24543 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
24547 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
24550 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
24556 Michael Welsh Duggan,
24561 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
24565 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
24573 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
24575 Michelangelo Grigni,
24579 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
24581 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
24583 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
24590 François Felix Ingrand,
24591 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
24592 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
24594 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
24604 Peter Skov Knudsen,
24605 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
24607 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
24608 Thor Kristoffersen,
24611 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
24629 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
24630 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
24637 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
24642 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
24646 John McClary Prevost,
24652 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
24657 Christian von Roques,
24660 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
24667 Philippe Schnoebelen,
24669 Randal L. Schwartz,
24683 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
24688 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
24708 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
24709 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
24710 (550kB and counting).
24712 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
24715 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
24716 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
24720 @subsection New Features
24721 @cindex new features
24724 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
24725 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
24726 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
24727 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
24728 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
24729 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
24732 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
24733 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
24734 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
24737 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
24739 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
24744 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
24745 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
24748 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
24749 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
24752 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
24755 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
24756 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
24757 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
24760 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
24761 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
24762 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
24763 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24766 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
24767 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24770 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
24771 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
24772 (@pxref{The Active File}).
24775 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
24776 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
24779 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
24780 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
24781 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24784 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
24785 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
24786 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
24789 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
24790 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
24793 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
24794 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
24797 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
24798 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
24801 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
24802 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24805 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
24806 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
24809 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
24810 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24813 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
24816 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
24817 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
24820 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
24821 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
24824 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
24825 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
24828 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
24831 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
24832 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24835 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
24839 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
24843 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
24844 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
24847 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
24853 @node September Gnus
24854 @subsubsection September Gnus
24858 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
24862 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
24867 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
24868 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
24872 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
24873 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
24877 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
24881 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
24882 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
24885 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
24889 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24892 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
24895 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
24898 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
24902 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
24903 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
24906 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
24910 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
24914 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
24918 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
24922 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
24925 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
24926 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
24929 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
24933 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
24934 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
24937 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
24940 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
24941 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
24942 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24945 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
24949 The Gnus cache is much faster.
24952 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
24956 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
24957 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24960 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
24961 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
24964 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
24965 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
24968 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
24969 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
24970 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
24973 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
24974 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
24977 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
24980 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24983 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
24986 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
24989 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
24990 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
24993 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24997 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
25000 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
25005 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
25008 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
25012 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25015 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
25019 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
25022 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
25025 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
25026 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25029 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
25030 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
25034 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
25035 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
25038 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
25042 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
25043 buffer to allow easier treatment.
25046 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
25049 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
25053 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
25057 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
25058 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
25061 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
25065 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
25066 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25069 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
25070 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25073 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
25077 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25080 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
25083 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
25089 @subsubsection Red Gnus
25091 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
25095 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
25102 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
25105 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
25106 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25109 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
25110 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
25114 Article washing status can be displayed in the
25115 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
25118 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
25121 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
25122 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
25125 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
25129 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
25130 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
25134 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
25135 Server Internals}).
25138 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
25142 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
25145 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
25146 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
25149 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
25150 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
25151 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
25154 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
25155 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25158 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
25159 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
25162 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
25166 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
25167 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25170 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
25171 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25174 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
25178 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
25181 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
25185 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
25186 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25189 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
25190 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25193 A new command for reading collections of documents
25194 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
25195 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
25198 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
25202 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
25203 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
25206 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
25207 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
25208 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
25211 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
25212 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
25216 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
25220 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
25224 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
25229 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
25233 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
25237 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
25238 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
25241 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
25247 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
25249 New features in Gnus 5.6:
25254 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
25255 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
25256 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
25259 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
25260 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
25261 group, which is created automatically.
25264 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
25268 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
25271 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
25272 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
25275 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
25279 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
25282 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
25283 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
25286 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
25289 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
25293 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
25294 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
25297 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
25298 control over simplification.
25301 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
25304 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
25308 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
25311 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
25314 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
25315 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
25316 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
25319 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
25320 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
25323 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
25327 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
25328 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
25331 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
25332 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
25335 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
25339 A history of where mails have been split is available.
25342 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
25345 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
25346 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
25349 A new function for citing in Message has been
25350 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
25353 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
25356 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
25360 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
25361 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
25364 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
25365 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
25368 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
25371 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
25375 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
25376 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
25378 New features in Gnus 5.8:
25383 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
25384 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
25386 If you used procmail like in
25389 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
25390 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
25391 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
25392 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
25395 this now has changed to
25399 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
25403 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
25406 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
25407 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
25410 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
25411 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
25414 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
25415 called to position point.
25418 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
25419 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
25422 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
25423 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
25426 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
25427 subtly different manner.
25430 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
25431 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
25432 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
25435 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
25440 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
25443 New features in Gnus 5.10:
25448 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
25452 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
25453 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
25456 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
25457 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
25460 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
25462 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
25463 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
25464 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
25465 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
25466 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
25467 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
25468 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
25469 isn't save in general.
25474 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
25475 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
25476 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
25477 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
25482 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} installs key bindings in dired buffers to send
25483 a file as an attachment (@kbd{C-c C-a}), open a file using the appropriate
25484 mailcap entry (@kbd{C-c C-l}), and print a file using the mailcap entry
25485 (@kbd{C-c P}). It is enabled with
25487 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25491 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
25494 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
25499 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
25500 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
25502 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
25503 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
25507 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
25508 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
25511 Retrieval of charters and control messages
25513 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
25514 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
25519 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
25520 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
25521 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
25524 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
25525 decompressed when activated.
25528 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
25529 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
25532 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
25535 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
25536 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
25539 Warn about email replies to news
25541 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
25542 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
25546 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
25547 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
25551 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
25552 opposed to old but unread messages).
25555 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
25556 Gcc articles as read.
25559 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
25562 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
25563 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
25566 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
25567 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
25570 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
25571 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
25574 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
25575 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
25578 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
25580 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
25581 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
25582 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
25583 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
25586 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
25588 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
25589 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
25590 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
25591 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
25592 the second parameter.
25594 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
25595 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
25596 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
25597 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
25598 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
25599 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
25600 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
25601 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
25602 cycle used under Unix systems.
25604 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
25608 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
25610 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
25611 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
25612 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
25613 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
25614 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
25618 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
25620 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
25621 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
25622 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
25623 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
25627 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
25629 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
25630 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
25631 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
25632 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
25634 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
25635 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
25636 message cited below.
25639 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
25642 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
25644 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
25645 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
25646 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
25647 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
25648 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
25651 (setq gnus-parameters
25653 (gnus-show-threads nil)
25654 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
25655 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
25656 (to-group . "\\1"))))
25660 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
25662 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
25666 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
25668 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
25669 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
25670 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
25671 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
25672 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
25673 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
25674 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
25675 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
25676 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
25679 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
25681 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
25682 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
25683 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
25684 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
25685 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
25686 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
25689 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
25690 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
25694 Improved anti-spam features.
25696 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
25697 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
25698 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
25699 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
25700 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
25703 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
25706 Face headers handling.
25709 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
25710 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
25713 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
25716 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
25718 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
25719 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
25720 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
25721 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
25722 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
25723 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
25724 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
25725 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
25726 when getting new mail, remove the function.
25729 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
25731 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
25732 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
25733 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
25734 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
25735 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
25736 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
25737 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
25738 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
25739 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
25740 was inserted directly.
25743 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
25745 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
25746 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
25752 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
25753 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
25754 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
25755 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
25756 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
25757 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
25758 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
25759 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
25760 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
25761 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
25762 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
25763 behaviour of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
25764 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
25765 is not needed any more.
25768 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
25770 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
25771 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
25772 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
25773 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
25774 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
25778 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
25780 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
25781 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
25784 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
25786 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
25787 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
25788 lisp directory into load-path.
25790 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
25791 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
25794 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
25796 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
25799 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
25801 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
25802 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
25803 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
25804 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
25807 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
25809 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
25811 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
25812 'bbdb-complete-name)
25816 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
25818 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
25819 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
25820 local files as external parts.
25822 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
25823 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
25824 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
25825 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
25826 that support editing.
25829 @code{gnus-default-charset}
25831 The default value is determined from the
25832 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
25833 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
25834 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
25837 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
25839 Add a new format of match like
25841 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
25842 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25844 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
25846 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
25847 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25851 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
25853 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
25854 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
25855 need add those two headers too.
25858 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
25860 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
25861 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
25862 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
25865 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
25866 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
25867 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
25871 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
25873 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
25876 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
25878 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
25881 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
25883 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
25884 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
25885 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
25888 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
25890 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
25894 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
25896 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
25897 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
25898 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
25899 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
25900 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
25901 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
25902 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
25903 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
25906 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
25908 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
25909 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
25910 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
25911 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
25912 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
25915 Extended format specs.
25917 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
25918 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
25919 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
25920 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
25921 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
25922 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
25925 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
25927 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
25928 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
25929 out other articles.
25931 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
25933 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
25934 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
25935 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
25936 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
25939 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
25941 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
25942 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
25943 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
25946 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
25948 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
25949 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
25950 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
25951 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
25952 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
25953 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
25954 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
25955 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
25956 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
25957 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
25958 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
25961 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
25962 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
25965 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
25966 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
25967 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
25968 message, Message Manual}).
25971 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
25972 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
25974 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
25975 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
25976 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
25978 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
25982 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
25983 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
25985 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
25986 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
25987 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
25988 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
25991 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
25994 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
25997 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
25998 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
26001 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
26003 The behaviour for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
26004 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
26005 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
26006 invalidate the digital signature.
26013 @section The Manual
26017 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
26018 either @code{texi2dvi}
26020 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
26021 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
26023 to get what you hold in your hands now.
26025 The following conventions have been used:
26030 This is a @samp{string}
26033 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
26036 This is a @file{file}
26039 This is a @code{symbol}
26043 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
26047 (setq flargnoze "yes")
26050 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
26053 (setq flumphel 'yes)
26056 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
26057 ever get them confused.
26061 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
26062 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
26063 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
26064 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
26065 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
26066 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
26067 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
26073 @node On Writing Manuals
26074 @section On Writing Manuals
26076 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
26077 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
26078 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
26079 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
26080 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
26081 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
26084 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
26085 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
26086 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
26089 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
26090 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
26095 @section Terminology
26097 @cindex terminology
26102 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
26103 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
26104 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
26105 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
26106 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
26110 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
26111 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
26112 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
26113 not posting, and replying is not following up.
26117 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
26121 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
26126 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
26127 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
26128 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
26129 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
26130 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
26131 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
26132 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
26133 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
26134 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
26137 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
26138 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
26139 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
26140 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
26141 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
26142 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
26144 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
26145 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
26146 access the articles.
26148 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
26149 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
26150 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
26155 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
26156 default, way of getting news.
26160 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
26161 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
26166 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
26167 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
26171 A message that has been posted as news.
26174 @cindex mail message
26175 A message that has been mailed.
26179 A mail message or news article
26183 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
26188 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
26193 A line from the head of an article.
26197 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
26198 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
26200 @item @acronym{NOV}
26201 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
26202 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
26203 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
26204 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
26205 normal @sc{head} format.
26209 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
26210 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
26211 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
26212 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
26213 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
26214 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
26216 @item killed groups
26217 @cindex killed groups
26218 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
26219 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
26221 @item zombie groups
26222 @cindex zombie groups
26223 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
26226 @cindex active file
26227 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
26228 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
26229 is rather large, as you might surmise.
26232 @cindex bogus groups
26233 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
26234 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
26235 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
26238 @cindex activating groups
26239 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
26240 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
26241 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
26245 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
26247 @item select method
26248 @cindex select method
26249 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
26252 @item virtual server
26253 @cindex virtual server
26254 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
26255 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
26256 whole is a virtual server.
26260 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
26261 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
26264 @item ephemeral groups
26265 @cindex ephemeral groups
26266 @cindex temporary groups
26267 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
26268 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
26269 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
26272 @cindex solid groups
26273 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
26274 group buffer are solid groups.
26276 @item sparse articles
26277 @cindex sparse articles
26278 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
26279 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
26283 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
26284 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
26288 @cindex thread root
26289 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
26290 articles in the thread.
26294 An article that has responses.
26298 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
26302 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
26303 specified by RFC 1153.
26306 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
26307 @cindex mail sorting
26308 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
26309 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
26310 incorrectly called mail filtering.
26316 @node Customization
26317 @section Customization
26318 @cindex general customization
26320 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
26321 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
26322 for some quite common situations.
26325 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
26326 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
26327 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
26328 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
26332 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
26333 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
26335 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
26336 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
26337 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
26341 @item gnus-read-active-file
26342 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
26343 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
26344 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26345 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
26346 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
26348 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
26349 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
26350 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
26351 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
26355 @node Slow Terminal Connection
26356 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
26358 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
26359 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
26360 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
26364 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
26365 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
26366 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
26367 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
26368 horizontal and vertical recentering.
26370 @item gnus-visible-headers
26371 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
26372 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
26373 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
26374 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
26376 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
26378 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
26379 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
26380 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
26383 @item gnus-use-full-window
26384 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
26385 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
26386 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
26387 want to read them anyway.
26389 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
26390 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
26394 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
26395 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
26396 lines, which might save some time.
26400 @node Little Disk Space
26401 @subsection Little Disk Space
26404 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
26405 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
26409 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
26410 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
26411 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26412 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26415 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
26416 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
26417 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26418 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26421 @item gnus-save-killed-list
26422 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
26423 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
26424 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
26425 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
26431 @subsection Slow Machine
26432 @cindex slow machine
26434 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
26435 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
26437 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26438 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
26440 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
26441 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
26442 summary buffer faster.
26446 @node Troubleshooting
26447 @section Troubleshooting
26448 @cindex troubleshooting
26450 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
26458 Make sure your computer is switched on.
26461 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
26462 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
26466 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
26467 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.4} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
26468 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
26471 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
26472 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
26475 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
26476 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
26477 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
26478 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
26479 something like that.
26482 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
26485 @cindex reporting bugs
26487 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26489 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
26490 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
26491 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
26492 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
26494 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
26495 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
26496 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
26497 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
26500 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
26501 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
26502 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
26503 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
26504 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
26505 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
26507 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
26508 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
26509 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
26513 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
26514 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
26517 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
26518 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
26519 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
26520 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
26521 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
26522 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
26523 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
26524 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
26525 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
26526 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
26527 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
26528 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
26529 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
26530 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
26535 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
26536 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
26537 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
26538 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
26539 helps isolating the real problem areas).
26541 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
26542 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
26543 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
26544 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
26545 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
26546 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
26547 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
26548 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
26549 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
26550 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
26551 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
26552 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
26553 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
26556 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
26557 @cindex ding mailing list
26558 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
26559 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
26560 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
26561 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
26565 @node Gnus Reference Guide
26566 @section Gnus Reference Guide
26568 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
26569 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
26570 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
26571 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
26574 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
26575 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
26576 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
26577 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
26578 and general methods of operation.
26581 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
26582 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
26583 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
26584 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
26585 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
26586 * Group Info:: The group info format.
26587 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
26588 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
26589 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
26593 @node Gnus Utility Functions
26594 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
26595 @cindex Gnus utility functions
26596 @cindex utility functions
26598 @cindex internal variables
26600 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
26601 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
26602 Below is a list of the most common ones.
26606 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
26607 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
26608 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
26610 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
26611 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
26612 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
26614 @item gnus-group-real-name
26615 @findex gnus-group-real-name
26616 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
26619 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
26620 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
26621 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
26622 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
26624 @item gnus-get-info
26625 @findex gnus-get-info
26626 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
26628 @item gnus-group-unread
26629 @findex gnus-group-unread
26630 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
26634 @findex gnus-active
26635 The active entry for @var{group}.
26637 @item gnus-set-active
26638 @findex gnus-set-active
26639 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
26641 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26642 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26643 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
26646 @item gnus-continuum-version
26647 @findex gnus-continuum-version
26648 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
26649 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
26652 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
26653 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
26654 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
26656 @item gnus-news-group-p
26657 @findex gnus-news-group-p
26658 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
26660 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26661 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26662 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
26664 @item gnus-server-to-method
26665 @findex gnus-server-to-method
26666 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
26668 @item gnus-server-equal
26669 @findex gnus-server-equal
26670 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
26672 @item gnus-group-native-p
26673 @findex gnus-group-native-p
26674 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
26676 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
26677 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
26678 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
26680 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
26681 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
26682 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
26684 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
26685 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
26686 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
26687 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
26689 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
26690 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
26691 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
26693 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
26694 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
26695 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
26697 @item gnus-check-backend-function
26698 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
26699 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
26700 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
26703 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
26707 @item gnus-read-method
26708 @findex gnus-read-method
26709 Prompts the user for a select method.
26714 @node Back End Interface
26715 @subsection Back End Interface
26717 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
26718 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
26719 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
26720 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
26721 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
26722 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
26724 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
26725 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
26726 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
26727 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
26728 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
26729 been opened, the function should fail.
26731 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
26732 name. Take this example:
26736 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
26737 (nntp-port-number 4324))
26740 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
26741 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
26743 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
26744 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
26745 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
26747 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
26748 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
26749 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
26751 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
26752 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
26753 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
26754 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
26755 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
26756 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
26759 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
26760 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
26761 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
26762 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
26765 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
26766 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
26767 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
26768 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
26769 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
26770 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
26771 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
26772 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
26773 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
26774 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
26776 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
26777 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
26778 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
26779 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
26780 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
26781 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
26782 of numbers as long as possible.
26784 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
26785 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
26786 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
26788 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
26791 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
26794 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
26795 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
26796 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
26797 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
26798 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
26799 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
26803 @node Required Back End Functions
26804 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
26808 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
26810 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
26811 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
26812 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
26813 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
26815 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
26816 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
26817 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
26818 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
26820 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
26821 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
26822 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
26823 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
26824 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
26825 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
26826 number, do maximum fetches.
26828 Here's an example HEAD:
26831 221 1056 Article retrieved.
26832 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
26833 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
26834 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
26835 Subject: Re: Something very droll
26836 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
26837 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
26839 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
26840 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
26841 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
26845 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
26846 these in the data buffer.
26848 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
26852 head = error / valid-head
26853 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
26854 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
26855 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
26856 header = <text> eol
26860 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
26862 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
26863 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
26867 nov-buffer = *nov-line
26868 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
26869 field = <text except TAB>
26872 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
26876 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
26878 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
26879 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
26881 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
26882 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
26883 server. In fact, it should do so.
26885 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
26886 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
26889 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
26891 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
26892 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
26895 There should be no data returned.
26898 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
26900 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
26901 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
26902 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
26903 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
26905 There should be no data returned.
26908 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
26910 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
26911 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
26912 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
26913 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
26915 There should be no data returned.
26918 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
26920 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
26922 There should be no data returned.
26925 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
26927 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
26928 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
26929 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
26930 it would be nice if that were possible.
26932 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
26933 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
26934 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
26935 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
26936 into its article buffer.
26938 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
26939 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
26940 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
26941 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
26942 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
26943 on successful article retrieval.
26946 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
26948 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
26949 making @var{group} the current group.
26951 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
26954 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
26957 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
26960 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
26961 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
26962 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
26963 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
26964 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
26965 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
26966 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
26967 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
26968 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
26972 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
26973 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
26974 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
26978 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
26980 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
26981 a no-op on most back ends.
26983 There should be no data returned.
26986 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
26988 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
26991 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
26994 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
26995 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
26998 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
26999 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
27000 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
27001 and the highest as 0.
27004 active-file = *active-line
27005 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
27007 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
27010 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
27011 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
27012 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
27015 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
27017 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
27018 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
27019 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
27020 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
27021 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
27022 clear if the posting could not be completed.
27024 There should be no result data from this function.
27029 @node Optional Back End Functions
27030 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
27034 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
27036 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
27037 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
27038 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
27040 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
27041 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
27042 former is in the same format as the data from
27043 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
27044 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
27047 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
27051 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
27053 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
27054 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
27055 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
27056 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
27057 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
27059 There should be no result data from this function.
27062 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
27064 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
27065 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
27066 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
27067 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
27068 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
27069 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
27070 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
27071 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
27073 There should be no result data from this function.
27076 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
27078 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
27079 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
27080 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
27081 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
27082 propagate the mark information to the server.
27084 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
27087 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
27090 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
27091 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
27092 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
27093 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
27094 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
27095 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
27096 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
27097 possible, not limit itself to these.
27099 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
27100 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
27101 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
27102 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
27104 An example action list:
27107 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
27108 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
27109 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
27112 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
27113 mark on (currently not used for anything).
27115 There should be no result data from this function.
27117 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
27119 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
27120 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
27121 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
27122 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
27123 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
27125 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
27126 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
27127 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
27130 There should be no result data from this function.
27133 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
27135 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
27136 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
27137 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
27138 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
27139 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
27140 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
27141 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
27142 local if that's practical.
27144 There should be no result data from this function.
27147 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
27149 The result data from this function should be a description of
27153 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
27155 description = <text>
27158 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
27160 The result data from this function should be the description of all
27161 groups available on the server.
27164 description-buffer = *description-line
27168 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
27170 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
27171 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
27172 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
27173 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
27174 in the active buffer format.
27176 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
27177 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
27178 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
27179 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
27180 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
27181 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
27182 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
27185 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27187 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
27189 There should be no return data.
27192 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
27194 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
27195 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
27196 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
27197 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
27198 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
27201 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
27204 There should be no result data returned.
27207 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
27209 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
27210 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
27212 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
27213 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
27214 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
27215 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
27216 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
27217 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
27219 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
27220 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
27223 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27224 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27226 There should be no data returned.
27229 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
27231 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
27232 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
27233 this function in short order.
27235 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27236 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27238 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
27239 article for that group.
27241 There should be no data returned.
27244 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
27246 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
27247 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
27249 There should be no data returned.
27252 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
27254 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
27255 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
27256 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
27258 There should be no data returned.
27261 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
27263 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
27264 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
27266 There should be no data returned.
27271 @node Error Messaging
27272 @subsubsection Error Messaging
27274 @findex nnheader-report
27275 @findex nnheader-get-report
27276 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
27277 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
27278 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
27279 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
27280 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
27281 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
27284 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
27286 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
27289 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
27290 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
27291 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
27292 takes one argument---the server symbol.
27294 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
27295 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
27296 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
27299 @node Writing New Back Ends
27300 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
27302 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
27303 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
27304 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
27305 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
27306 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
27309 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
27310 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
27311 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
27313 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
27314 package called @code{nnoo}.
27316 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
27317 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
27323 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
27324 parameters. For instance:
27327 (nnoo-declare nndir
27331 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
27332 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
27335 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
27336 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
27337 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
27339 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
27340 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
27341 a function in those back ends.
27344 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27345 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27346 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27349 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
27350 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
27351 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
27353 @item nnoo-define-basics
27354 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
27358 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27362 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
27363 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
27364 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
27366 @item nnoo-map-functions
27367 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
27368 functions from the parent back ends.
27371 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27372 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27373 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
27376 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
27377 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
27378 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
27379 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
27382 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
27383 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
27384 haven't already been defined.
27390 nnmh-request-newgroups)
27394 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
27395 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
27396 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
27401 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
27404 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
27405 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
27409 (require 'nnheader)
27413 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
27415 (nnoo-declare nndir
27418 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27419 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27420 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27422 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
27423 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
27426 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
27428 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
27429 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
27430 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
27432 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
27433 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
27435 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
27437 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27439 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
27440 (setq nndir-directory
27441 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
27443 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
27444 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
27445 (push `(nndir-current-group
27446 ,(file-name-nondirectory
27447 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27449 (push `(nndir-top-directory
27450 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27452 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
27454 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27455 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27456 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27457 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
27458 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
27462 nnmh-status-message
27464 nnmh-request-newgroups))
27470 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27471 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27473 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
27474 @findex gnus-declare-backend
27475 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
27476 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
27477 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
27479 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
27480 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
27485 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
27488 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
27490 The abilities can be:
27494 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
27496 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
27498 This back end supports both mail and news.
27500 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
27503 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
27504 articles and groups.
27506 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
27507 true for almost all back ends.
27508 @item prompt-address
27509 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
27510 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
27511 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
27515 @node Mail-like Back Ends
27516 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
27518 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
27519 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
27520 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
27521 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
27524 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
27525 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
27526 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
27529 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
27530 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
27533 This function takes four parameters.
27537 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
27540 @item exit-function
27541 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
27543 @item temp-directory
27544 Where the temporary files should be stored.
27547 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
27548 performed for one group only.
27551 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
27552 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
27553 find the article number assigned to this article.
27555 The function also uses the following variables:
27556 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
27557 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
27558 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
27559 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
27563 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
27564 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
27568 @node Score File Syntax
27569 @subsection Score File Syntax
27571 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
27572 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
27573 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
27575 Here's a typical score file:
27579 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
27586 BNF definition of a score file:
27589 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
27590 element = rule / atom
27591 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
27592 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
27593 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
27594 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
27596 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
27597 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
27598 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
27599 date-header = "date"
27600 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27601 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27602 score = "nil" / <integer>
27603 date = "nil" / <natural number>
27604 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
27605 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
27606 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
27607 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
27608 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27609 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27610 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
27611 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27612 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
27613 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
27614 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
27615 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
27616 exclude-files / read-only / touched
27617 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
27618 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
27619 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
27620 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
27621 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
27622 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
27623 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
27624 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
27625 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
27626 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
27627 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
27628 eval = "eval" space <form>
27629 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
27632 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
27635 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
27636 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
27637 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
27638 one looong line, then that's ok.
27640 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
27641 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27645 @subsection Headers
27647 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
27648 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
27649 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
27650 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
27652 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
27653 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
27654 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
27655 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
27656 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
27657 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
27658 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
27660 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
27661 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
27662 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
27663 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
27664 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
27666 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
27667 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
27673 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
27674 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
27676 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
27677 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
27678 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
27679 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
27681 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
27685 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
27688 is transformed into
27691 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
27694 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
27695 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
27698 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
27701 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
27702 is slightly tricky:
27705 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
27711 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
27714 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
27720 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
27727 and is equal to the previous range.
27729 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
27730 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
27731 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
27735 range = simple-range / normal-range
27736 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
27737 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
27738 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
27739 number *[ " " contents ]
27742 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
27743 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
27744 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
27745 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
27746 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
27751 @subsection Group Info
27753 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
27754 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
27755 describes the group.
27757 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
27758 second is a more complex one:
27761 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
27763 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
27764 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
27766 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
27769 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
27770 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
27771 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
27772 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
27773 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
27774 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
27775 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
27776 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
27777 this section is about.
27779 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
27780 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
27781 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
27783 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
27786 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
27787 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
27788 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27789 group = quote <string> quote
27790 ralevel = rank / level
27791 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
27792 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
27793 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
27795 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
27796 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
27797 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
27798 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
27801 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
27802 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
27805 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
27806 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
27809 @item gnus-info-group
27810 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
27811 @findex gnus-info-group
27812 @findex gnus-info-set-group
27813 Get/set the group name.
27815 @item gnus-info-rank
27816 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
27817 @findex gnus-info-rank
27818 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
27819 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
27821 @item gnus-info-level
27822 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
27823 @findex gnus-info-level
27824 @findex gnus-info-set-level
27825 Get/set the group level.
27827 @item gnus-info-score
27828 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
27829 @findex gnus-info-score
27830 @findex gnus-info-set-score
27831 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
27833 @item gnus-info-read
27834 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
27835 @findex gnus-info-read
27836 @findex gnus-info-set-read
27837 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
27839 @item gnus-info-marks
27840 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
27841 @findex gnus-info-marks
27842 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
27843 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
27845 @item gnus-info-method
27846 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
27847 @findex gnus-info-method
27848 @findex gnus-info-set-method
27849 Get/set the group select method.
27851 @item gnus-info-params
27852 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
27853 @findex gnus-info-params
27854 @findex gnus-info-set-params
27855 Get/set the group parameters.
27858 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
27859 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
27861 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
27862 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
27863 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
27864 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
27867 @node Extended Interactive
27868 @subsection Extended Interactive
27869 @cindex interactive
27870 @findex gnus-interactive
27872 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
27873 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
27874 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
27877 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
27878 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
27883 The best thing to do would have been to implement
27884 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
27885 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
27886 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
27887 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
27888 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
27889 @code{interactive}.
27891 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
27896 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
27897 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
27901 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
27902 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
27903 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
27906 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
27910 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
27914 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
27920 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
27921 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
27925 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
27926 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
27927 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
27929 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
27930 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
27931 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
27932 Gnus, that's very useful.
27934 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
27935 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
27936 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
27937 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
27938 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
27939 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
27940 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
27941 following function:
27944 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
27948 (,function ,@@args))
27952 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
27953 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
27954 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
27957 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
27958 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
27959 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
27961 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
27962 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
27963 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
27966 @node Various File Formats
27967 @subsection Various File Formats
27970 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
27971 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
27975 @node Active File Format
27976 @subsubsection Active File Format
27978 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
27979 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
27982 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
27985 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
27986 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
27987 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
27988 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
27989 no.general 1000 900 y
27992 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
27995 active = *group-line
27996 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
27997 group = <non-white-space string>
27999 high-number = <non-negative integer>
28000 low-number = <positive integer>
28001 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
28004 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
28005 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
28008 @node Newsgroups File Format
28009 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
28011 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
28012 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
28013 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
28016 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
28017 Here's the definition:
28021 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
28022 group = <non-white-space string>
28024 description = <string>
28029 @node Emacs for Heathens
28030 @section Emacs for Heathens
28032 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
28033 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
28034 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
28035 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
28036 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
28037 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
28038 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
28042 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
28043 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
28048 @subsection Keystrokes
28052 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
28055 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
28058 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
28059 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
28060 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
28061 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
28062 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
28063 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
28065 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
28066 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
28067 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
28068 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
28069 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
28070 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
28071 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
28073 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
28074 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
28075 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
28076 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
28077 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
28078 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
28079 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
28081 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
28082 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
28083 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
28084 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
28085 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
28091 @subsection Emacs Lisp
28093 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
28094 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
28095 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
28096 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
28098 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
28099 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
28100 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
28101 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
28102 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
28103 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
28104 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
28107 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
28108 write the following:
28111 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
28114 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
28115 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
28116 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
28119 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
28120 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
28121 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
28122 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
28123 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
28125 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
28126 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
28127 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
28131 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
28135 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
28138 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
28139 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
28142 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
28145 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
28146 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
28149 @include gnus-faq.texi
28169 @c Local Variables:
28171 @c coding: iso-8859-1